Shadows in the Wind
by MindTrash
Summary: Gaara is bitter at everyone, that has always been a given. He has never taken an interest in anyone before, but for some reason she was stuck in his head. Her eyes, her scent, her hair... a stranger that made him itching to kill. Or perhaps it was something else entirely.
1. Chapter 1

**AN: Hello everyone! Welcome to my madness. This is a fic I've been writing for a while, don't know if I'll finish it, but I've decided that any fics I have over ten chapters I will post just because I love to share things with people. **

**This fic originally was to be called 'Run' then changed to 'Stalker'. I eventually gave up on one-word names for it, and last minute it came to me that a stalker is essentially 'shadowing' someone. Kage also means 'Shadow', and since Gaara is Kazekage he is the 'Wind Shadow'. So yeah... Shadows in the Wind. Lol.**

**AS ALWAYS There will be smut. All of my works contain such content, so if that's what you're into you should be more than happy with just about anything I write. As a person I am rather generous and loving, with my main flaw being that I am a sexual deviant. Go figure. **

**At any rate, enjoy this little diddy I have created. More chapters to come-**

**also...**

**WARNING: Contains assault. Dub-con elements. Etc. If you know me you know the drill. Let's go.**

Years of loneliness and rejection had him grated. His patience was at an absolute zero, and his blood lust was the only thing that made him feel alive.

But those eyes, they haunted him; those eyes that looked so much like Yashamaru's kind ones that would one day fill with apathy before losing their light.

It made his head hurt, it made the kanji ache, yet he still followed her in spite of this.

Stalking her around the hospital had become his new hobby as she visited her bed ridden comrades. Her scent was a youthful one, and he could tell that she practically bathed herself in the fruity-floral fragrance, but it wasn't overwhelming enough to keep him too far. If anything he wanted to smell her up close. If he could find the scent somewhere on the ground he would probably roll in it so as to embed it onto himself like dogs did with dead carcasses.

Gaara licked his lips at that thought. The idea of her being dead on the forest floor while he bathed in her fragrant blood sent pleasant chills through him. Now he was starting to view this as a hunt rather than just curiosity.

Yes, he would have to kill her then. The thought alone gave him such pleasure that he wouldn't deny himself such a treat. However, he would want her to know that she was being hunted first. It would make things more interesting, and the hunt more exciting.

Sakura was exiting the hospital as the sun started to set, not realizing he was tailing her. Her pink hair glowed like a beacon lit from the vibrant sky, and it led him all the way to the leaf's more desolate training grounds.

'She's alone, and out of earshot. So naive...' The redhead shifted from sand into a fleshed out form behind a tree, and watched hungrily as she began practicing throwing kunai. Her shots weren't awful, and her form was perfect. Now that he really looked at her closely, he realized that her body wasn't bad looking. Although young, he did not deny her to be beautiful. In another life he might have pursued her romantically...

But this wasn't another life. This was the Gaara who wished for death and pain on everyone. No one was innocent. Especially girls with eyes like Sakura's.

It got dark quickly, and the moon had started to rise as he watched her sweat out her frustrations. She was angry about something, and it showed in her work.

"Why can't I just be like them?! Why can't I keep up?!" As Sakura vented she finally ran out of kunai, but it didn't stop her from gathering rocks to throw at the trees instead. "Why can't I be stronger!?"

The redhead grew curious in her behavior, then excited when she ran out of rocks. It was at that point that she started to grab fistfuls of sand to throw in front of her, and the grains leaving her fingers looked so familiar that it gave him goosebumps.

Gaara began to walk out from behind the trees, not masking his footfalls in the slightest. Like he surmised, she startled like a small animal at the sound, then became more panicked when she recognized him.

"You... what are you doing here?" Sakura shuffled back slightly, but he continued his intimidating approach.

"I've been watching you... for days..." The redhead began closing the distance a bit more, enjoying the high as the kunoichi backed herself up into a tree. "Oh please run, I want to chase you-"

"You stay away from me!" Sakura pulled one of her kunai from the tree to hold out shakily in front of herself. He watched her body tremble fearfully as his shadow washed over her fragile form, and he began to smile with pure glee over it.

"I like that look, it suits you." Before she could take a step his sand had begun to trap her while she screamed. His hand rose up at the ready to crush her to death.

"COWARD!" The kunoichi shouted at him half in fear, and half in rage.

Gaara tilted his head a bit in confusion, he had never gotten that response from his victims before.

"Can you not use your own two hands!? Or are you really that weak that you have to rely on sand for everything!?" Sakura growled out at him, letting her anger take over.

However, she wasn't wrong. He had been using his sand too much, and was sure that using his hands this time would make for a pleasantly prolonged kill. As a result the sand dropped her in front of him just in time for his pale hands to wrap around her neck.

"I usually don't do last requests... but I want to savor you..." Gaara croaked dryly before pushing her to the ground by her throat. Something inside him heated as he pressed, and suddenly she was beneath him struggling to breathe. He enjoyed her struggles so much that his grip loosened just enough to keep her alive, and awake. He wanted to keep watching her shake, jolt, gasp, and fight. It was so entrancing especially with how the moon lit up her frightened eyes.

She started to still, and began to truly grow horrified of him. It was a fascinating expression.

"Do I frighten you?" He started to pant excitedly from the thought, and her dilated eyes showed how much adrenaline was pumping through her body. Her pulse was pounding under his hands, and it made him realize how long he had been touching her.

It was rare for him to touch people, and now that he had the opportunity he didn't know if he wanted to miss out on such an occasion. Without thinking too hard on it his sand came at his will, and tied down her arms and legs. As his hands lifted away from her neck she began to scream, so he willed his sand to hold her head down too. However, he wanted the personal honor of keeping his hand over her mouth to keep her quiet.

Her mouth pressed behind his palm, and he realized her lips were soft. For some odd reason it made him want to touch more of her.

Gaara palmed at her frame with his free hand, feeling her freshly growing curves through her dress, and her creamy skin under his fingertips. She was far too soft to be real. Were all girls this soft? Perhaps she took great care of her skin.

Sakura started to squeal under his palm as he smoothed over her chest. He hushed her almost instantly, as if she were disrupting him while in the middle of a good book.

"It's this, or I kill you right now." The redhead stated plainly before lifting his hand away from her mouth. She stared at him with hopelessness in her eyes before she started to cry softly.

He didn't like that, it made his insides squirm with multiple feelings that he had tried to keep burried.

"Stop it." Gaara leaned his face in close to hers, and although she stopped sobbing she still continued to shake violently. Inspired, he leaned in to smell her neck, and hair. Her scent was so much better up close that it practically had him growling. He nuzzled his face into her pink locks to rub the scent on himself for later, but stopped when he noticed her shiver every time he breathed. Curious, he exhaled against the skin of her neck gaining a small cry of fear.

The jinchuriki's skin crawled with excitement, the kunoichi was so fearful, but also so incredibly sensitive. He didn't know what else he could do to keep the moment going, but he wanted it to continue forever. He experimentally ran his tongue along her jugular, and she started to cry once more after a nice moment of shivering.

"Why are you crying?" Gaara was honestly curious since he wasn't hurting her anymore. There was no purpose for such a reaction. She struggled with a few more sobs, and whimpers.

"I don't want to be raped."

The redhead blinked in surprise at her accusation before giving a scoff. Yet he also thought about his current actions, and how they could be considered some form of sexual assault.

However, he didn't feel that was accurate as he had never felt any sexual urges before. If anything he was just relishing in human contact for the first time in his life. Unfortunately it had to be one sided, and he knew it would be this way for the rest of his life. No one loved him so he would just have to use force to get the connection he needed, but that didn't mean he was going to participate in one sided intercourse.

"I'm not going to rape you." Gaara trailed his hands up and down her frame almost mournfully, and for the first time he wished that he could be able to touch someone with their consent. That they would want that from him, and possibly return it. With his heart feeling a bit human for once, he let some of his inner thoughts slip out. "I wouldn't even begin to know how."

Sakura's eyes softened slightly at his accidental admission, and she seemed relatively calm as he 'inspected' her body. Eventually he came to rest his head on her chest to listen to her beating rabbit heart. It thumped quickly at first, but after a while it started to relax into a steady rhythm once some sort of strange trust was gained. The steady pulse was soothing, and her small chest felt plush against his face.

"I haven't felt contact like this since I was six..." The redhead murmured, and the girl beneath him tensed. However, she didn't seem terribly nervous. "That makes it seven years... seven years without nurturing touch. I bet you get hugged by your parents all the time... perhaps they brush your hair... like this-"

Gaara let his pale fingers gingerly brush away her pink strands that had strayed into her eyes. Her irises shined brighter without the shade of her hair, and the jade orbs pierced right through him.

They were stunning, and stirred him in a way he couldn't rightly recognize. That foreign feeling frightened him enough to lunge a hand up to her scalp to pull hard at the flowery locks. She yelped in pain like a beaten animal, and the feeling worsened in his stomach. Her whimpering cries of anguish made him tingle with excitement, and the feeling flopped around inside him begging for attention.

'What is it? What is this emotion?!'

Suddenly Shukaku started to laugh at him, and it made his hairs rise up with anxiety.

'You know for a teenager you are pretty dense, kid!' The beast cackled, causing the sound to rattle around in his skull. 'You want her.'

Gaara blinked nervously as he stared hard at the girl underneath him. He felt something warm flood his body, but he had initially translated that into wanting to kill her-

'Moron! Just hurry up, and mate with her!'

The redhead froze at the implication, and suddenly felt extremely aware of everything around him. His blood was pounding in his ears making him deaf to her cries, however he still slackened his grip on her hair in favor of running his fingers against her scalp.

Gaara didn't want to kill her anymore, but he did feel like eating her.

The redhead dipped his head back down to nuzzle against her neck before placing his lips on her creamy skin. Her whole figure stiffened as he opened his mouth to lap at her flesh, which triggered her to start struggling violently against the restraint of his sand.

Gaara bit her until she bled into his mouth, and her blood tasted like the sweetest metallic liquid he had ever had. She gave a curdling scream that he quickly cut off by pressing his fingers on her throat. The blood was so hot while pouring into his mouth, and he didn't even have to suck to enjoy it, but when he did happen to suck here and there she would grit her teeth at the pain.

Eventually the bleeding stopped, but he had become so fascinated by her skin that he went to the other side of her throat to taste her nervous sheen of sweat. She whimpered fearfully again, but it didn't stop his onslaught on her creamy flesh. As his teeth dragged against her jugular her whole body jolted with a sharp breath. The reaction started to send pangs of heat through him.

It was recognizable now, the sensation was new but it certainly had a common name amongst humans and animals alike. Shukaku had been correct in telling him what it was that he had been feeling. However, he still didn't like the idea of it.

Gaara wanted to continue, and badly, but he pulled away from her with his normal look of apathy. His ghostly eyes roamed her image to memorize it, and for a moment he swore he saw her blushing. The sand trickled away from her legs, arms, and head allowing her to be free from him. Yet he didn't move off of her, he simply stared at her to memorize her face as she stared right back. She bit her lip once before letting it go, and it did more to him than he cared to admit.

He wasn't ready for something like this, it was better if she left. He would let her live today. If she posed a problem in the future he would definitely finish her off, but today he just wanted to remember her in a more fonder light.

"You should go home now." The redhead murmured, his voice especially rasped from his previously harsh breathing.

Sakura blinked a few times before nodding in agreement, and quickly scrambled away.

Watching her try her damndest to be away from him stung him a bit, he felt like they had something a bit deeper than what he had with his other victims.

She was just like the others, filled with fear and hatred of him-

"Thank you, Gaara." Sakura spoke quickly before giving a rushed bow in his direction. His eyes could only widen in shock as he watched her sprint away after her gesture of gratitude. He was dumbstruck, no one had ever thanked him before in his entire life, but this girl had just done so after he had practically tortured her.

'You didn't rape or kill her when you obviously wanted to. Wake up, brat!' Shukaku's harsh voice rattled through his head like a migraine. 'Or better yet, go to sleep! Then you can leave the little cherry blossom to me-'

"No. She's mine. Back off." Gaara snarled outwardly at the beast, and surprisingly had enough willpower to throw the monster into the back of conciousness for the moment. The redhead shook the blood back to his brain before standing back up, and mindlessly wandered off into the night.

\- ... - ... - ...

He couldn't stay away, even though he had already killed another ninja that night his lusts were not sated.

Gaara sat literally on the ledge of her window, and thought of all the ways he could show her how careless she had been for keeping the window open, but for now he merely watched her sleep.

Sakura had been having nightmares, and was turning frequently in her sheets. It had gotten to the point where he decided to walk over to her bedside, and brush away the pink hair sticking to her sweating face. She trembled slightly, but seemed to be soothed.

The redhead was fascinated, and went in to run his thumb along her lips. When the rosy buds parted with a sigh he felt all his hairs raise in excitement. Her mouth was so incredibly soft-

'Can you just imagine those lips wrapped around your c-' Shukaku began to speak, breaking the pleasant illusion of the room. Gaara jolted, and practically jumped back from her to interrupt the beast. The teen grabbed at his skull bitterly, and snarled.

The room became very quiet, and the light of the moon was begining to fade. Yet as his eyes turned in the dark he saw her sitting up ramrod straight, staring at him.

'Damn you, tanuki bastard!' The redhead inwardly cursed, but the tanuki never answered him.

"What are you doing in my room?" Her voice came out far more confident then before, and it forced the teen to straighten to try to regain his power status.

"Nothing. I'm not doing anything." Gaara snipped at her, and surprisingly she withered before pulling back her sheets with a groan.

"Well then you can't stay, please leave." Sakura went to stand, but he suddenly closed the distance to loom over her, making her have to sit on the edge of her own bed.

"So, if I keep myself busy I can stay?" He bent forward to close even more distance between them, and to his amusement she started to recoil.

She didn't seem to have much left to say to him, and subconsciously grabbed at her shoulders to cross her arms protectively around her chest.

'She really believes that I'm some sort of pervert.' Gaara frowned, but he couldn't deny that he also didn't know what his intentions for her were. So he couldn't rightly say that she was in the wrong for being scared.

That and he enjoyed scaring the shit out of people.

"Listen, I think you have a few things you need to work through... and if you'd like we can talk about things later. It's just not okay for you to be in my room... in the middle of the night-"

"Every time you start talking I begin to feel... hungry." Gaara squatted down to her level, resting on his haunches. His hands gripped her bed on either side of her to cage her in. "I want to eat you."

"Well I'm sorry, but you can't eat me." Sakura actually gained the nerve to spit back at him, and he was pleasantly surprised by her challenging nature. "If you're hungry you can help yourself to whatever food we have in the fridge, but you can't eat people. That's disgusting."

"I don't like it when people tell me no-"

"Well too bad! That's life! You can't always get what you want!" She was really starting to snap at him now, but her anger only made him more interested. Suddenly he was climbing over her, and pressing her down onto her own mattress. "Gaara, no!"

The redhead snarled at her in a feral way, and for a moment she looked shocked by it, but then she began gritting her teeth while fighting him for control.

"Stop trying to scare me! I am tired, and I want to sleep!" Sakura pressed upper half up by her elbows making their faces only inches away from each other. Her piercing eyes locked on fiercely to his haunting ones like two animals preparing to fight.

She had spunk. Even though this girl was afraid of pain, and death she was still forcing herself through to keep him at bay. He had never seen anything like it, and it almost made him feel... normal. As if they were on equal ground.

But Gaara knew that wasn't the case, she was just very foolish.

"Go home. I'm too tired to fight you right now." Sakura's eyes blinked slowly for a moment, and he could see the fatigue creeping onto her face. It must have been the blood loss she suffered from earlier.

"If I don't do anything, can I stay?" Why Gaara even bothered asking was beyond him, but with her eyelids drooping he felt that using honey would work far more in his favor. Perhaps he would have consent to be somewhat close to someone for once.

The kunoichi's head jolted as she almost fell asleep sitting up, and since she couldn't seem to answer he made the decision for her. Removing himself from her, Gaara adjusted her body to lay down properly in the bed before covering her with her own blankets. The second her head hit the pillow she was out cold. He was glad that he could stay longer to study her, but he also rather enjoyed their little arguments.

The redhead sighed in frustration, and sat crosslegged at the foot of her bed. He faced her with stern arms crossed, hardly blinking as he watched her sleep.

This one was interesting, he was glad he kept her alive longer. Hopefully he wouldn't lose interest.

**AN: Soooo? Do we likey? I love "evil" Gaara, that's kind of when I fell in love with him. Like, first second he was hanging upside down in that tree when they introduced him I was sitting in my chair thinking "I am going to love this character... forever." I was 12. Now I am 28. Accurate assessment for a twelve year old. Only other characters I've loved for as long are Hiei and Vergil. **

**...I have a type it seems.**


	2. Chapter 2

**AN: Another chapter for you, more dub-con elements but relatively safe. Enjoy.**

"Sasuke... I love you..."

Her sleep spoken words had him breathing darkly.

Gaara hated love, and he hated when people showed love for each other. So hearing her say such things in her sleep about his newest opponent made him extremely pissed.

What was so special about the Uchiha that had everyone chasing him? Why didn't he acknowledge all of the affection he was getting?

Gaara officially hated Sasuke, and had already made plans to kill him today, but that stupid sensei of his forced him to wait. He should have just killed them both, but he had an inkling that the masked teacher was stronger than he looked.

Well, if he couldn't kill Sasuke perhaps he could go kill one of his comrades to piss him off a bit.

Just as he rounded the corner towards the hospital he stopped dead to watch the girl he had been so interested in waltz through the double doors. Another blonde girl strolled behind her, and he remembered the pitiful fight they had in the exams.

The redhead decided to tail them, but kept relatively to the shadows to keep his identity hidden. They handed out flowers to their friends, peeled apples for the bedridden, and giggled amongst themselves about trivial things. So innocent, and soft, but he remembered the flavor of her sinful blood pulsing under her skin. It made him practically starving for another taste.

The blonde eventually left, and as the sun started to set he felt his urges to lunge at his precious blossom grow stronger. Just one bite would do, and he would probably feel sated for the rest of the night.

As the hospital started to close its doors for the night he followed her outside, growing closer with each step down the now bustling street. Shops were lit up brightly, but he blended in with the neon colors quite well.

Sakura stopped, and turned around with a withered expression letting him know that he had been caught. Accepting defeat he wandered up to her without reservation, and waited in silence for her to say her peace.

"What do you want, Gaara?" The kunoichi crossed her arms sternly at him, and he actually enjoyed her standoffish attitude.

"I'm hungry." He smiled darkly, showing her his sharp canines that were meant just for her. However, she just looked even more irritated.

"Let's go eat then." Sakura sighed and waved him to follow her. It wasn't what he had been expecting, but he wouldn't argue over being in her company let alone being invited to do so. He dragged his feet up to walk by her side, looking over at her every so often just to study her up close.

She took them to a rather quiet restuarant, and they sat down in one of the darker corners of the room. She ordered up some of konoha's grilled delicacies, some soup, and some sort of fruity tea. Sitting across from her was even more interesting, and he enjoyed dissecting her with his ghostly eyes.

"So, are you enjoying your stay here in Konoha?" Sakura took a calm sip of her tea, but it was her hands that gave her away.

They were shaking. She was nervous.

"Yes, the air is fresher here. There is also more fresh water, and better food." Gaara answered truthfully, and it actually seemed to calm her. "The beast inside me appreciates nature, and he appreciates your people's blind hospitality. So naive, and ready to slaughter-"

"You know, if you really are trying to woo me then talking about killing my people doesn't really help your case." The kunoichi glared for a moment, and their food was suddenly planted in front of them by a soft spoken waitress. As soon as she wandered away he felt his dark smile return.

"You think I came here to romance you? Once again, naive." The redhead took a generous bite of the tender meat in front of him. It was succulent, and slid down the throat far easier than the dried meats they had in Suna.

"Well, you can't seem to leave me alone. You follow me everywhere like some sort of puppy so what am I supposed to think?" Sakura sighed, and nibbled politely at her food.

"I'm just waiting until the urge to kill you arises. Unfortunately I'm more interested in how you live at the moment. It's only a matter of time though-"

"Says the boy who tucked me into bed last night. Yes, you really desire to end my life. Mmhmm. Sure." The kunoichi took a sip of her soup, leaving him to focus on her neck as she gulped it down. He licked his lips at the thought of her sweet metallic blood pouring into his mouth.

They finished their meal without any more banter, and she generously paid for him even though he could probably do it himself. Yet, he was impressed that she was trying to show him some sort of hospitality.

Did she not care that a demon lived inside him? That would actually be very interesting if that were the case.

Now he was following her to wherever she decided to lead him, and funnily enough it was a tour of her own town. She pointed out the hokage's faces, where the cemetary was, the best ramen place in all of the land of fire, the bath house, and much more. He wondered if she was trying to distract him from his original plot, at any rate he was enjoying himself a bit. As the night grew later more foreign ninja were seen at the bars, so they decided to take more nature trails to different destinations to avoid the drunks.

The current path they were on led to a bridge over a pristine river. Everything here was so incredibly clean. She hopped up to sit on the stone ledge, viewing the moon's rays on the sparkling water. As beautiful as the river was he could only find himself staring at her. Her pink hair, jade eyes, and creamy skin all seemed to glow in the silver light.

It made him hungry again.

"This is the prettiest river in all of Konoha, and this bridge is my favorite. It's always low traffic here, so it makes it extra peaceful." Her eyes were so focused on the scenery that he couldn't contain himself any longer. Without warning he lunged at her with his teeth bared, and they both toppled over the bridge into the river she seemed so fond of.

She gave a curdling scream that was muffled by the water, but his teeth sunk in deep to feel her hot blood pour into his mouth. They immediately washed up against some rocks under the bridge, and she took a few gasping breaths for air while he continued to drink.

What was strange was how her arms had seemed to wrap around him, most likely in an effort to get back to the surface, but as he pressed her hard against the large rocks her arms only gripped him tighter in an embrace. He had started to return it by slipping his arms around her too, and felt her shivering frozen form under his own weight. She gave a few shaking breaths, and his drinking slowed until he could just lightly lap at the wound with his tongue. With her hair so wet he could smell her much more than before, and he began nuzzling into her damp pink locks to try to memorize the scent.

Gaara had already tasted her, but he was still starving for her. Her blood wasn't enough, he wanted more, but he knew the blood wouldn't sate him.

He pulled away to look at her frightened expression. Her face had gone pale from the cold and blood loss. Her lips blue, and trembling. Before he could really think it through his mouth was on her freezing lips, warming them with a kiss. She squirmed, and bit at his bottom lip hard enough to make him yelp.

The redhead pulled away with snarl, but the flower in his arms didn't seize the moment to run. He almost wished she would give chase, just so he could feel the thrill of hunting her in exchange for the discomfort she brought him. Yet the kunoichi continue to shiver in his grasp, and her breath shook violently with every intake of air.

Gaara didn't like it when she looked like that. Sakura looked sickly, and exhausted, it didn't make him feel warm like before when she had so much fight in her. Right now he just felt sour in his stomach like something was wrong here. Without thinking he pulled her arm over his shoulder, then shuffled both of them out from under the bridge and onto the rocks lining the shore. Her expression was confused, and judging by the tight line his lips made he was certain that he looked just as lost about the situation.

"What a-are you d-doing?" Sakura's blue lips quivered from her drop in temperature, but she didn't sound too concerned. He hoisted her onto dry land before dragging his own body up beside her.

"I'm no longer interested." The redhead huffed as water dripped from his face onto the rocks and grass below him. His words were only half true, he was certainly curious about her but he had no further desire to watch her suffer. This was quite new, as he truly enjoyed watching others in pain or discomfort. He stared at the ground beneath him, his expression growing more lost by the second.

"Well, at l-least your l-living your l-life how you w-want to l-live it." The kunoichi shivered uncontrollably, but it was her words that struck him further then her demeanor.

Was he truly living his life the way he wanted?

Gaara wasn't sure of the answer. Well, no, that wasn't quite right either. There was an answer hidden deep inside him, but he held only the pain of knowing that what he wanted could never happen. So thus his answer had to be repeatedly beaten down, because his dreams could never come true.

After a while of thinking he looked over at the drowned girl, and realized that she had probably passed out right after speaking her peace. He couldn't leave her out here for the villagers to find. Believing it to be smart rather than admit the truth that he was worried about her, he hoisted her wet form into his arms to carry her back to her home.

The walk was quiet, and he seemed to slip through the night unnoticed even with a drenched girl slung in his arms. Unfortunately mother nature decided to make things a little harder for them, and opened up the skies for a midnight downpour.

Sakura's house came into view, the lights where off throughout the home letting him know her family was asleep. He took it as a good sign, and jumped up skillfully to her still open window. It was unsmart for her to leave it open when a storm was approaching, she seemed to make a lot of stupid rookie mistakes in life.

He removed his shoes on the large windowsill before treading across her floor. As he was about to lay her out on her bed he realised that laying her soaking wet body on the blanket meant to warm her was not very smart. No, her dress would have to go.

Without a second thought Gaara's sand formed a clone to hold her up while he apathetically peeled off her dress, leaving her in nothing but her soft cotton pink bra and black shorts. The shorts were next, revealing floral pink underwear that seemed much too young for her.

'She is a child though, this girl is a whole year behind me... barely even stepping into becoming a woman where as I have already taken my step into becoming a man-'

The redhead shook out his hair to rid himself of the thought. It was too odd to ponder over their obvious differences, and how those differences made him feel lost in a stranger way than they usually did. He didn't like this feeling, it was too foreign.

Sakura trembled in the arms of his lifeless sand clone, and his brain switched over to the strange desire of wanting her to be comfortable.

Why? Why couldn't he just want her to scream and bleed like everyone else he came across? She was so... fragile. He could snap her in half, or crush her body into nothing but pink meat, yet he wanted her to sleep without shivering. He wanted her to be warm.

Gaara chose to keep her underclothes on, more for himself than for her sake, and pulled back the covers for the clone to place her in the bed. Once tucked in she still continued to shiver, and it bothered him that he couldn't succeed in giving her comfort. With a frustrated groan he started to strip off his own gear.

His gourd rested beside the bed, and it felt somewhat strange to feel the weight lifted away from him. The white scarf was unwrapped from his torso, his black t-shirt peeled off to reveal his fishnet one underneath, and lastly his black cargo pants were pulled down until he could properly step out of them.

Wandering around this girl's room in nothing but his black boxers and netted top didn't make him feel any more at ease, but it did give him a bit more warmth. Hanging up the damp clothes on hangers to dry, he padded back over to her bedside. Denying any thoughts against it he crawled into her bed, and pressed his body along her to provide more heat. As her shivering leveled out he felt a sense of pride finally make it's way to the surface.

The redhead did cringe at the feeling of her cold flesh, but he couldn't deny that it piqued his interest. Her skin was so soft, as if she polished it every day to get its smooth marble-like texture. The teen couldn't help his fingers from running along her forearm to take in it's silkiness, and she turned her head to give a soft sigh in his direction. He felt the absent hairs on his body attempt raise up in gooseflesh while his chest tightened anxiously.

The red tone to her lips had returned, and his haunting eyes couldn't stop staring at the perked rose buds. They were cold before, but perhaps now they were warm. Another quick decision had him leaning forward to test his theory, and he once again pressed his mouth to hers.

Soft. Warm soft petals of the most enchanting flower. He was swept up in the rush of it as he pressed further to truly memorize the feeling of a gentle kiss, even if it was only one sided. She didn't stir for the longest time, he was even able to pull away to continue his study of her sleeping form. She seemed completely at peace in her slumber, and he envied her restful bliss.

Yet watching her eased him somehow, like he could vicariously sleep through her.

Gaara didn't leave until light began filtering in through the window, and at that point he felt reluctant to leave the comfort of her warm bed, but if he stayed any longer he felt that the enemy known as 'sleep' would finally catch up to him.

It was far too soon for that, and he had clearly discovered that if he wanted to keep her he'd have to hold back until the plan finally went through.

After the sand had finally succeeded in taking over this village, he would claim her as his prize. Yes, she would be a fine prize indeed.

\- ... - ... - ... - ... - ...

His jealousy got the better of him.

That Rock Lee had gotten so much attention from her, even though the martial artist was completely useless now. It drove him absolutely mad enough that he had aimed to properly finish the bastard.

But no, those other leaf comrads of hers had to step in. Lee's teacher as well. Showing such love and care for his student-

Liars. Selfish bastards; all of them. How dare they flaunt the one thing he couldn't have. It made his head sear in pain.

"You need to stop following me." A voice came up behind him, echoing off the trees on the path. He hadn't even realized that he had been tailing her for over an hour now, or the fact that she had somehow disappeared only to reappear behind him. Was he losing it?

"Why?" Gaara stiffened as her tone showed her emotions plainly. She certainly wasn't pleased with his behavior.

"Because its improper. This is stalking." Sakura was short with him, only proving his points further.

"I don't care, I'm not doing anything to you-"

"You aren't now, but soon this wont be enough for you. You are already targeting my friends, and I don't appreciate you trying to kill them." The kunoichi circled around to step in front of him, and her eyes were so intense he almost felt the urge to look away. "If you want friends then try to be nice to people-"

"I don't want friends." Gaara lied to her face, and her expression changed to something sadder than what he had predicted. Could she see through his careful disguise?

"If that's how you want to live then I guess... I guess I'll see you at the next exam." Sakura looked at the ground before slipping past him to disappear into the trees.

He hadn't felt this lonely in a while, he had grown accustomed to her presence even though it was mostly just him following her.

It made his head hurt.

**AN: How's it going? Liking it so far? Review and let me know what you think ;)**


	3. Chapter 3

Gaara was dreaming. For the first time in years he was dreaming, and it was a nightmare.

The blood pouring from his chest, the pain searing through him as all sanity left in favor of changing into the beast he hated so much. He had chased the culprit into the forest, and aimed to kill the Uchiha once and for all. She was there somewhere, his flower amongst the leaves, but she was on the wrong side. She was supposed to be with him!

The redhead threw his arm to finish the brunette bastard, but the kunoichi of his more pleasant fantasies stood in his way.

Wearing the eyes of Yashamaru.

So many memories, too many that brought him pain. He threw her up against a tree with his sandy limbs, and finally tried to crush her like he had wanted to before.

But he just couldn't kill her, he couldn't finish her off. Only threats and bluffs. Before he knew it that dopey boy in orange came to save the day, and he realized just how similar this boy was to him.

He had a demon too, it was there, he could see it.

Something had awoken him, and his face along with his brain started to pulse painfully. He fought the boy, trying his hardest to defeat him. His lack of chakra left him at the boy's mercy, and a fatal headbutt had them both bleeding as they fell into the trees.

Gaara couldn't believe it, and as another blast had them hurtling to the ground he realized he could not win, but he did not want to disappear.

The boy, Naruto Uzumaki, spoke to him of loneliness; of the pain that they shared over harboring these spirits. The redhead heard him, felt fear of the end, but also felt comforted that love had somehow prevailed for this boy. This boy preached that his love for others was his strength, and that it was far more gratifying then loving only ones self.

For the first time, Gaara felt remorse, and as his siblings came to take him away from the battle he spoke to them gently.

"I'm sorry." He whispered, feeling the shock roll through his brother's muscles as he hoisted the younger's frail body from the tree limbs. His siblings told him not to worry about it, that it was alright and that he was forgiven. Such kindness was not deserved for what he had done to them.

Love blossomed in his heart, and he felt like crying. He hoped that Sakura could one day forgive him too, but he doubted that after this he would ever be able to see her again to speak of his remorse for how he had treated her.

'I'm sorry...'

\- ... - ... - ... -

The news of his father's death did not come as a shock, nor did he cry over it like his siblings had. His only regret was that he felt that he could not find closure, there were too many stones left unturned, and pages that he could no longer read further into.

Rasa was dead, and all that he was left with was the fact that the man hated him enough to try to kill him at least six times.

Gaara wanted to improve still, so he joined the ranks of his people. They hated him of course, but he felt no more ill will towards them. They just did not understand what he was, and in that confusion they found fear. No one wants to feel fear, it is a horrible emotion, so he did not blame them for wanting him farther away than close at hand.

A mission had him at the mercy of the leaf, and he found himself back in their village once more. He never imagined this day to pass, but it did, and he was able to see the faces of the people who had changed his life forever.

Sakura looked genuinely terrified, Sasuke looked just as unnerved, and Naruto...

Just as cocky as ever. He was beginning to truly enjoy this boy's attitude. Nothing ever brought his spirits down.

The mission was another plot to kill the sand jinchuriki, as he had quickly found out, but no one was hurt in the process. His comrads had changed their minds rather quickly about him as he came to their aid to protect them, and they protected him as well. It was... liberating. Finally he felt his soul beginning to piece back together after being shattered for so long. Was this the love that Naruto spoke of?

They decided to rest up before leaving, and Gaara took his time away from his comrads to wander the city streets. Some of the villagers were wary of him, as was their right, but he took no offense to it. His sights were set on the pink haired kunoichi, and his heartfelt apology blossoming in his chest. She seemed more mature somehow, and yet she was exactly the same.

As he followed her from a good distance he felt his blood pounding, and the rising moon made it worse.

Why was that dark feeling coming back? Why did he want her to run? Why did he want to hear her scream? What was this horrible feeling?!

Shukaku seemed to laugh in the back of his mind, but he ignored it as he pushed forward through the crowds. He wanted to reach her, and quickly.

Soon he realized that she had wandered to an isolated area, surrounded by some sort of flowering trees near a small waterfall. The fragrance of the white flowers was heady, and made him pleasantly dizzy. This place was quite peaceful bathed in the moonlight, and the sound of running water. She turned around, and her face seemed slightly irritated, but the sigh that escaped her was resigning.

"After all this time, you still come back to stalk me." At first her tone was stern, but a smile crept up on her causing a giggle to bubble out.

The laughter was contagious, and he felt himself laughing with her over how silly the situation was. He hadn't laughed genuinely in a very long time, and he was glad to feel humor again. Once the moment settled a warm breeze washed his smile away, replacing his happiness with the original feeling of remorse.

"I apologize... for everything I have done..." Gaara took careful steps towards her, and to his relief she did not startle like he thought she would.

"It's okay, Naruto explained it to me... your situation I mean." Sakura balanced from one leg to the other, giving off a rather shy disposition that flattered her greatly. The urge to bite her rose up into his throat, drying it in the hope of wetting his tender flesh with her blood-

The redhead froze merely a foot away from her. His control over his urges was waning, and his fear was rising to meet him. She could clearly see his concern, and misread it as insecurity.

"Hey, wait, it's okay! Really, I'm not judging you. Here-" The kunoichi closed the distance between them to wrap her arms around his shoulders with care. His body stiffened greatly as her neck came into clear view. "I know it's weird, but this is a hug. It's what friends do to show they are there for one another. It's also a form of affection."

"Affection..." The word rolled off his tongue as his eyes glazed over, the scent of her hair warming his nostrils as he inhaled deeply.

"Mmhmm! It's nice isn't it? If you ever need a hug I don't mind giving them out. I'm kind of like everyone's mom amongst my friends, so I don't mind sharing that with you too." Sakura nuzzled warmly against him, almost too personally for the level of which they were acquainted, but he had done this to her once before too. Not so long ago he had found himself in her bed, holding her to himself almost desperately in an attempt to feel something other than loneliness. Yet she never realized that this took place, she never realized that he had kissed her so gently while she slept.

This was not the relationship a mother and child had, she was mistaken in how he felt for her. His urges towards her were far different, and far more demanding.

He bit her then, and she stiffened with painful gasp under the weight of his fangs. Before she could move away his arms caged her in, pressing her firmly to his chest.

"N-no... please! Not again, Gaara!" Sakura started to cry, and he felt his chest tighten with immense pain as she did so. He couldn't break the surface of her skin even though he wanted to so badly. Instead he merely sucked and scraped, allowing himself to only taste her skin rather than her delicious red blood.

She trembled in his arms, gasping with each nip as he trailed her jugular wantonly. He desired what was under the surface, he wanted her crimson life-water to flow past his lips, but he just couldn't hurt her. It was a battle of tug of war that had him onslaughting her neck with licks and small bites that somehow left her shaking in his pale hands.

She finally whimpered into his ear, and he felt the urge to bite down grow much stronger. He dragged his teeth hard against the creamy flesh, and she jolted with a sharp cry that made his head buzz.

Sakura's fingers gripped against his shoulder blades, scratching at the fabric that covered them. He wanted to feel her scratch at his skin, he wanted to feel her flesh against his own again. He wanted to feel this emotion completely, and let it burn him from the inside out.

"G-Gaara... stop... it feels weird..." The kunoichi hummed into his ear as her body trembled for the millionth time. Her words made him slow to think, only allowing him to gently lap his tongue along her raw neck.

What was he doing? What was his end goal? Why did he want her to become vulnerable and exposed to him?

'You want her.'

Shukaku's words played with his mind again, and he realized that it was merely desire. That strange thing that adults did in dark places that they thought he wouldn't understand.

Well he understood very well what it was now, and he understood that he did not see Sakura like a mother, or a friend.

'She doesn't understand...' He thought to himself with another lick of her jugular, and her trembling continued as a small whimper escaped. 'She's not ready.'

Gaara pulled away to look her carefully in the eyes. Dilated jade stared back at him, and it made him want to push her more.

'Not like this... I can't force her-'

"Once again... I apologize." He murmured as he brushed a few stray pink locks out of her eyes. Her lips pursed slightly, and her glazed expression showed that he had done too much damage to her young mind. "You should go home, please forget that this happened."

They stood there for a while, staring at each other under the light of the full moon, but he reluctantly made the first move of slipping out of her fingers. He desintegrated into his sand to blow away into the wind, and as he flew on the current he saw her standing there in a daze; stuck in a strange dream.

He hoped that she would push this memory away for ever.

\- ... - ... - ... -

The Uchiha had been taken. That was the first problem. He knew the leaf blossom would be saddened by the boy's departure, and that he would most likely have to check on her for his own sanity. At the moment though he was preoccupied by carrying the one shinobi he had tried to kill so long ago.

Rock Lee had become strong again, and it was a miracle. The fact that it seemed to ease Gaara's conscience intrigued him, but what made him even more curious was the fact that he desired to help the boy of similar age. He carried the teen's weight on his shoulder as they trekked away victoriously from their battle, and it made him feel pretty good inside. Battling by Lee's side made him almost happy.

Sasuke had slipped through their fingers, however. So the victory was short lived. As his siblings slept off their fatigue Gaara continued off into the night to seek the girl who would be the most heartbroken by the Uchiha's absence.

Just as he thought, as he approached her window she was sitting in the dark crying over her team's group photograph. He slipped in unnoticed, and silently kneeled behind her on the floor to mold his frame against her hunched form. She gasped with the intent to scream, but quickly swallowed it as she welcomed the embrace.

"Sasuke's gone..." Sakura sniffled, and his grip tightened unconsciously. Part in jealousy, and part in wanting to comfort her. They stayed that way for what seemed like ages as she cried, until finally her head tilted back on his shoulder forcing their cheeks to rub together. "I knew you would come see me, I just didn't know when."

"I'm sorry..." The redhead whispered more to himself than to her, but she shook her head regardless.

"No, I needed this. Thank you." As one of her tears soaked both of their cheeks she managed a small smile, he nuzzled a bit closer forcing the corner of his mouth to brush against her own. The fact that she didn't pull away, or stiffen was surprising.

This girl was so broken that he could probably do what he truly desired, and she would not deny him because she felt nothing in this moment. As tempting as that was he decided against it.

"You feel cold, have you eaten?" Gaara spoke just above a whisper, but his lips mouthed so temptingly close to her own that he could feel the corner of her mouth pull slightly with his words. He enjoyed it a little too much.

"No... not for a few days." Sakura admitted, and her hands gripped silently at his forearms wrapped around her chest. He hummed with concern as his brows furrowed at the fact. She wasn't taking care of herself, and that didn't sit right with him.

"Don't think for a while, let me do that. Just do as I say." The redhead whispered against her ear, and surprisingly she trembled at his cautious tone. He pulled away from the kunoichi, and pulled himself up from the floor. He didn't want to leave her alone, but he couldn't have her stay in such a state.

Choosing to wander around her house he found the bathroom, and ran a hot bath for her. As he turned around he stiffened slightly at the fact that she had followed him. She stood in the doorway looking emotionless for a minute before closing the door behind her, leaving them both in the dark.

The rushing water from the faucet filled his ears until the strike of a match blended with the running sound. She lit an oil lamp on the bathroom counter instead of flipping on the glaring electric lights, and his nocturnal sight silently thanked her for it.

Her eyes looked like empty voids as she stared through him, and he knew that she was on a barely functioning level. He'd have to be her eyes, her ears, her arms, and her legs. He moved close to her, and raised her arms up so he could remove her red dress. She complied robotically, and he carefully started to undress her completely.

Gaara ignored her nudity, he could focus on it at a later date, right now she needed the most basic of human care. Her fragile state would not be able to handle any form of perversion.

He sat her down on a stool to be scrubbed, avoiding touching her directly skin to skin the entire time. The only time he touched her with his fingers rather than with a wash cloth was when he washed her hair. The pink tresses softened in the foaming bubbles, and her head lolled as he carefully ran his fingertips against her scalp. He rinsed her, then repeated the process with conditioner allowing himself to truly massage her skull and neck as lovingly as he could. One more rinse had her waking up slightly, and as he led her to the tub he found her cheeks to hold the lightest of blushes as she settled into the hot water. Her arms wrapped self conciously across her chest, and for some reason it drew his attention back to what he truly desired.

Gaara shook away the thought, and silently left her to go find the kitchen.

Her house was dark, and quiet. It seemed as if her parents weren't home to comfort her, and he was glad he was able to provide her that comfort tonight.

The redhead found her kitchen, and searched through the cupboards for something to make. He found a few easy instant miso soup mixes, and decided that those were his best bet in making something edible for her. He didn't really know how to cook with the ingredients they had here in Konoha, so instant soup would have to do. He brought water to a boil, stirred in the mix and allowed it to simmer while he went back upstairs to fetch her.

As he opened the bathroom door he found her out of the tub, staring at herself in the mirror. She was dripping everywhere on the floor, and hadn't found herself a towel to dry off with.

It was odd watching such a beautiful girl stare at her reflection in such an absent way. It were as if her soul had left her body to fend for itself. There wasn't anything attractive about it, there was no reaction in anything. There was no life there to make this situation even slightly arousing.

Gaara sighed, and searched the closet next to him for the towels. Once a fluffy one was found he approached her to carefully drape it around her frame. He rubbed her shoulders, and her hair to wick away the moisture, but she seemed to have sunk back into her emotionless void barely noticing that he was even touching her. The drying process eventually turned into him embracing her from behind, and even as her delicate hands came up to once again grab at his arms he found himself unmovable. However, he knew that she actually appreciated him for that.

"I made dinner. You should eat-"

"I'm not hungry." Sakura murmured in a monotone, but he shook his head at her defiantly.

"Don't think, just do as I say." The redhead whispered to her, and she mutely nodded while continuing to stare lifelessly at their reflection. When he finally rose his eyes to look at the reflection as well he found her jade orbs had turned onto him with a lost expression. It was almost pleading the way she had looked at him.

'Please kill me.'

He blinked at the expression, and did not cave to its call. Instead he inhaled her scent, and embraced her almost passionately, clinging to her frame like a lover would.

That did something. She seemed to wake up a bit at the strange action, but he pulled away before any damage could be done. He only did just enough to make her brainwaves skip, to rethink her suicidal thoughts. That there are better things that can happen outside of the realm of death.

Gaara finally handed her a robe, and motioned her to follow him through the house. When her footsteps hurried after him he felt he had finally gotten to her, he was chiseling away at the stone covering her heart.

She sat down at the dinner table, and he provided two bowls of soup so that she could feel not so alone in eating. He barely sipped at the salty soup while he sat next to her, but it seemed to be enough to help her appetite. She sipped at first, but as her body recognized the substance of food she slowly became greedy in the way that she ate. In a matter of minutes the rather large bowl had been downed. He couldn't help the smile on his face as she drank the last drop. With a content sigh she lowered the bowl to the table, and peered over to him shyly.

"Why are you doing this?" Sakura looked guilty, and he didn't want he to feel that way.

"We're friends aren't we?" The redhead attempted to smile for her sake, but it came off somewhat awkward. She still took it well, and accepted the answer.

"You're leaving tomorrow." The kunoichi almost whispered, and he nodded his head. "Are you going back to the inn then? I suppose you'll need to rest before the trip-"

"I don't sleep." Gaara stated as if it were the most obvious thing in the world, and her blush solidified that she had forgotten that fact.

"Oh... I'm sorry." Sakura looked embarrassed, that wasn't how he wanted this to go either.

"It's easy to forget such things, everyone else would die if they couldn't sleep whereas I am only alive because of the monster that keeps me awake." The redhead gathered their bowls to bring them to the basin. He sighed as he washed the dishes, careful to make as little noise as he could to keep the moment relaxed.

"Does it bother you? Not being able to sleep I mean." The kunoichi wandered into the kitchen, it were as if she was trying to stay as close as she could to him.

'She must be very lonely right now.' He thought to himself as he dried off the last dish.

"Yes. My mental state isn't always stable, and I do a lot of things that I regret later-"

"Like biting people?" She said just above a whisper, and quickly covered her mouth as if she hadn't meant to say it at all.

'So, she's stuck on that. I suppose that I'll have to apologize again for it...'

"I'm not sure, but I am sorry for doing such things regardless." Gaara sighed once more before turning in her direction. He leaned back against the counter with his arms crossed while he studied her expression. She seemed more curious now than before.

"You're not sure if you bit me because you were sleep crazy? Or you're not sure if you regret it?" Sakura wrung her hands, and he could see that her own question made her nervous. However, he wouldn't deny that the questions were rather odd, or the fact that they blindsided him.

"I would bite you because I enjoyed it. I regret it because it frightened you." Gaara stuck to honesty with her, and it seemed to make her fluster in a way that one would find rather cute.

"I'm not scared of it, or at least I'm not anymore." The kunoichi turned away from him while the shock grew on his features.

'Was that an invitation? Is she saying that she doesn't mind me doing it?'

Without thinking his steps grew closer to her, but when he was finally close enough to touch her shoulder she flipped around with a worried expression.

"It still hurts though! So don't!" Sakura snapped as she smacked gently at his hand. He blinked at her for a moment before grabbing her roughly enough to squeak. She wriggled in his grip as he leaned down to her neck to bite at her skin.

Gaara remained gentle in it, not taking a deep bite like he always wanted, but rather just kissed along her skin. It was strange, she seemed to relax in his grip as he did it, yet it also seemed like she wanted to get away.

"Stop... it feels weird-" The kunoichi squirmed in his arms, but was still compliant enough to have him push her against the wall. His tongue dragged lazily along her jugular up to her jaw, and he followed it up to her ear to nibble at her lobe. She whimpered slightly as he tugged, but only went to stop him as his mouth made it's way to the corner of her own. Her hands pressed against his chest as she quickly turned her face away from him.

'Too personal...' He nodded silently to himself before placing his denied lips to her throat in a soft loving peck.

"I'm sorry-"

"Stop saying that. If you were truly sorry you wouldn't do it anymore." She huffed at him, and surprisingly it made him chuckle slightly.

"I suppose you're right. Fine then, I'm not sorry." The redhead took a step back, and was greeted with a frustrated blush that went everywhere. "Would you like me to leave then-?"

"No!" Sakura sputtered desperately before grabbing for his hands. Her eyes looked frightened beyond belief, and he realized that she was still far too broken to be left alone. He nodded at her carefully before taking a single delicate hand to lead her back upstairs. "Are you... leaving?"

"No. Not yet. I'll wait until tomorrow, but you need to sleep." As they entered her bedroom she stopped dead in her tracks.

"Don't leave while I'm sleeping. Please... I don't want to be abandoned... like the other night..." The kunoichi kept her eyes to the floor, but he attempted a smile in her direction regardless.

"I won't leave until you allow me to. Is that alright?" Gaara waited for her, and she finally found it in herself to nod at him shyly. At her cue, he led her to the bed to allow her to get under the covers. Once she was comfortable he followed her lead, and snuggled up beside her. At first she stiffened at the contact, but eventually she warmed up enough to roll over, and lay her head against his chest.

"Thank you, for everything." Sakura whispered as she fell fast asleep. He gently played with her hair, and allowed himself to breathe deeply for once as he cherished the weight of her against him.

He did not sleep, but for the first time it felt as if he had done so. The whole night seemed like a dream to him, and when she awoke he had felt refreshed, it were as if he were able to fully rest for the first time in years.

**AN: I'm really just re-reading these chapters before posting them, however I know I'll be slowing down at some point. Hope you enjoy them regardless. Please review :)**


	4. Chapter 4

**AN: Here's a fluffier chapter, hope you guys like it :3**

"We're staying for a little while to help teach the leaf's students. It seems they need all able hands to help with the rebuilding of the village." Temari discussed the situation with her brothers, but all Gaara could think about was the girl he had spent the night with previously. "So we'll be taking turns teaching, as well as rebuilding. It'll help strengthen our ties with the leaf."

"So, what are our jobs today then?" Kankuro queried, and it made Temari grin.

"We get to hang out with the little sprouts today to get to know them as a group. That way the remaining days will be easier when we work separately." The blonde seemed rather excited about it, but Gaara didn't know how well he could fare with children.

The day went on, they made their way to the school and the children were all seated ready to meet their new 'teachers'. All of their small eyes seemed to be fixed on him specifically, however he had to admit that they had every reason to be afraid of him.

"Hello everyone! I'm Temari, and these are my brothers Kankuro, and Gaara. It's a pleasure to meet all of you." The blonde gave a curt bow before nodding to her brothers to do the same.

"It's nice to meet you." Kankuro grinned cockily before his own bow, then nudged at Gaara to do the same.

"...nice to meet you." The redhead said roughly with his mouth in a tight line. His bow was rather jerky in his awkwardness leaving a few of the children giggling. However a couple of the more frightened students hurriedly tried to silence the giggling few.

In the past this probably would have offended him, but the person he was now found nothing wrong with it. Kankuro seemed to notice this as well, and quickly grabbed the redhead by his shoulder for a side hug.

"Don't worry about Gaara here! He just looks scary, but I assure you he's a total softy!" The elder brother announced before going in to whisper in Gaara's ear. "Just give them a funny face, that'll ease them a bit."

'A funny face?' He blinked at the notion. It was strange as he hadn't done anything like that since he was a very small child. He couldn't remember what one could do to make someone laugh, especially with just an expression.

"Cross your eyes or something." Kankuro urged quietly, and the redhead remembered that he and Kankuro would do that to each other from across the room while their father wasn't looking. He finally nodded and looked out at the rows of small children.

He took a calm breath before crossing his eyes, and as the giggles started he stuck out his tongue for added effect. The class began to break out in laughter, and while Kankuro thoroughly enjoyed it his sister didn't seem to approve too much.

"Gaara, don't disrupt the class." Temari scolded, and he quickly went back into his original state. Yet he couldn't help a smirk as she turned away from him.

The studies went on seriously from there, and he had to admit that his sister was a natural teacher. Kankuro goofed around more in the way that he taught, while Gaara simply kept things simple and to the point.

Some of the school children had taken a liking to him, some in more ways then one. A group of small girls had come up to him at one point outside to give him a few flowers they had picked, and surprisingly he didn't know how to accept them without feeling slightly awkward about it.

Walking back from the school was even worse, as his siblings had decided to tease him about it.

"I didn't think you'd get to be so popular in a day!" Temari grinned from behind her hand as she giggled.

"How come you got all the flowers?! All the girls like the bad boys, why is that?!" Kankuro huffed beside them causing Temari to break out in another fit of giggles.

Gaara turned the flowers around in his hands, and finally decided that they belonged to someone who would truly appreciate them. Without any warning he flipped around in the other direction towards the hospital, causing his siblings to panic slightly.

"We were just teasing, Gaara! Really! Its sweet that you got flowers from your students-!" Temari started but he simply waved it off.

"I'm going to the hospital to visit Naruto. Please don't concern yourselves." He continued his trek down the road, and it seemed to put his siblings at ease.

"Okay, we'll see you later then!" Kankuro hollered after him, and for some reason it warmed him to be so familiar with them. They treated him like the past had never happened, and that felt rather nice.

At the hospital he quickly found his friend's room, and just as he surmised the blonde was practically bouncing around in his bed with Sakura at his side nagging at him.

"Will you hold still?! I can't fix your bandages with you fidgeting!" Sakura pulled at Naruto's injured arm causing him to yelp before settling back down.

"Oh! Hey, Gaara! How are you? You sick or something?" Naruto grinned as wide as he could, and the girl next to him stiffened at the sound of his name. "Eh? Flowers?"

"Ah... yes. I got them from some students at the school-"

"Woah! You're subbing for Iruka sensei?! That's super cool!" Naruto began to bounce again, receiving a swift punch to the top of his head.

"STOP MOVING, IDIOT!" Sakura barked before violently tieing up his bandages. He whimpered in pain over it, and she finally wiped her hands of the task before turning towards the redhead. "So... you're staying for a while?"

Gaara could see a sweet shade of pink grace her cheeks, and it seemed to warm him from the inside out. All he could manage to do at the moment was nod.

"So, you already got a few of the girls crushing on you! You dog-OUCH!" Naruto winced once more as another strike came to the top of his skull.

"I think it's cute that they have taken a liking to you. I hope you won't find it too strange." Sakura threw a smile his way while her fist remained connected to her comrad's head. It was an awkward conversation, but he found it enjoyable nonetheless.

"I don't mind it. I'm just... not used to receiving gifts." He held the flowers awkwardly in his hands, and the kunoichi giggled.

"Well, you give gifts when you want to show someone that you care about them. It's a gesture of love." Her smile lit up the room, and it made him almost blinded with how bright it was.

Without really thinking he handed over the flowers to her, and she took them curiously into her hands.

"Then I'll pay it forward. You and Naruto will enjoy them far more than I will." Gaara attempted a rather awkward smile, but it seemed to have blonde up and bouncing once more.

"Since when did you become so nice?!-OWOWOW SAKURA STOP!" Naruto hollered as his blonde hair quickly got caught up in her clenched fingers.

"JUST SAY 'THANK YOU', YOU IDIOT! HE'S GIVING THEM TO YOU BECAUSE HE CARES ABOUT YOUR HEALTH!" She practically threw her friend against his pillow before quickly standing up to tend to the flowers. "I'll go put these in a vase. Thank you very much, Gaara. We appreciate the gesture."

She bowed politely before exiting the room, leaving the two jinchuriki alone with one another.

"She's been really sad lately, so I've been acting extra goofy to get her mind off of it. Sorry about that." Naruto blurted out, breaking the growing silence between them. Even in the times when the blonde was hurting most, he still cared selflessly about his friends.

"No, I understand." Gaara nodded before taking a seat beside him in a nearby chair.

"Can you... hang out with her a bit outside the hospital? Or maybe get her to show you around the town or something? I don't want her to go home crying again..." The blonde looked at his bandaged body almost bitterly. "I can't do it myself... otherwise I would-"

"I will distract her, if that's what she needs for the time being." The redhead answered softly, and recieved a grin for the effort.

"Thanks, you're awesome." Naruto smiled genuinely before giving a snicker. "But be careful, she can throw a mean punch!"

"I hope you're not saying bad things about me, Naruto." Sakura's threatening voice penetrated the room as she re-entered with the vase full of flowers, making the blonde go pale as he violently shook his head in denial.

"Ah-no! Gaara was just telling me that he hadn't had a proper tour of the town! I told him that you're the best tour guide that we have!" Naruto grinned victoriously, but her face began to wither with suspicion as she turned her eyes onto the redhead.

"Oh really? Is that so?" Her tone was sarcastic and bitter, but he could only find it in himself to shrug. With a sigh she finally admitted defeat. "Fine. I suppose we could start with dinner. Maybe catch a movie or something."

"Hey now, that sounds more like a date than a tour!" The blonde huffed, and her face went a bright shade of red.

"Knock it off Naruto! It's not a date!" Before anyone else could argue with her she practically ripped the redhead out of the chair next to her comrad. "Visiting hours are over! Goodbye, Naruto!"

With his pale wrist clenched in her delicate hand she yanked the poor teen out into the hall before slamming the door behind them. He allowed her to pull him along as violently as she pleased.

"You better not think of this as a date!" Sakura stomped viciously through the double doors leading out of the hospital while he stumbled behind her.

"I've never gone out on a date, so I wouldn't know even if it were one." Gaara murmured softly, and her pulling slowed to a gentle lead. They walked quietly down the abandoned street for what seemed like ages to him.

Obviously something about what he had said unsettled her. But why? It was more than normal for him to not have dated before, up until recently he was hated by literally everyone.

He was lost until he heard her give a rather large exhale, like she was preparing to say something that struck too close to her heart strings.

"I've been on group dates before, but other than that I haven't gone out specifically with any boys. Aside from my team of course." The creamy hand on his wrist slipped to his palm to grasp at his fingers. For some reason the gesture managed to warm his face. "We can pretend for now, you know, just to know what it feels like. If that's okay with you of course?"

The redhead couldn't see her expression, but he couldn't deny that his heart very much wanted to experience such an intimate outing at least once. Truth be told, Gaara wanted to go out on a date like the other teenagers around him. He wanted to experience a romantic evening even if it was 'pretend'.

"I'm fine with it." Gaara tried to sound more confident, but it came out as breathy and as awkward as ever. However, this seemed to work in his favor as the kunoichi tended to enjoy his more shy personality. She turned to smile at him genuinely, and it could have lit up the entire darkening sky.

\- ... - ... - ...

Dinner went fine, with the exception that Gaara had a difficult time trying to eat ramen. Long noodles were not something that they tended to eat in Suna, so it was interesting. The grilled saury they had as a side dish, however, was incredible. The redhead had decided that grilled fish was now one of his favorite foods.

He actually payed for their dinner this time around, and it seemed to get Sakura flustered for some odd reason. The chef seemed to know, however Gaara could not figure it out for the life of him.

Now they were entering an establishment called a 'cinema', or as she called it 'the movie theatre'. Suna was too poor to afford such entertainment, so this would be his first time watching a film. He had heard great things though, and assumed it would be similar to an actual acting theater.

However, there was to be more snacks in this place, and Sakura had stated clearly that she would pay for them, as well as the tickets. He had no problems in paying for his share, but she had thoroughly insisted, and he did not want to appear ungrateful.

He stood awkwardly in the lobby, watching people who were watching him right back. Apparently it was abnormal to be wearing a giant gourd, and he kept hearing many whispers about how he seemed out of place. That, and there were frequent comments about the fact that he lacked eyebrows.

It wasn't his fault that sand was abrasive, and that his sand armor had made it so the hair on his body would never grow back. Well, at least he had the hair on his head. For some reason that kept growing even though his sand would grind down the ends until they snapped off in jagged locks. He found that the less stress he felt the longer his hair would grow, or rather his hair wouldn't be onslaughted as often by his sand thus allowing it to be longer. It was a habit he was trying to fix at the moment, it would probably take a bit of time before his bursts of anxiety smoothed out.

"Okay! All set! Ready for your first movie?" Sakura was suddenly at his side with a buttery puffed snack in a bag, he was pretty sure it was called 'popcorn' or something. She also had a rather large fizzing drink complete with a straw. As he stared at the snacks she began to giggle before pointing out something crucial. "I couldn't carry the bag and two drinks, so I got just one drink. I thought it would be easier if we shared it, but if it's too unsanitary I can go grab another-"

"Why would it be unsanitary?" Gaara blinked at the statement, and grew even more confused when she started to warm in the cheeks.

"Ah-haaa... well... cause you know... sharing a drink means we'd be using the same straw." Just as she mentioned it she took a sip from the straw to prove her point. It started to click into place.

"Are you sick-?"

"No! My saliva is on the straw now, if you take a drink that means that my saliva is now in your mouth!" She handed off the drink in frustration even though he still didn't understand why it was an issue. He had to share drinks with many of his comrads before when only one canteen was left.

As she dug through her pocket to grab for the tickets he took a careful sip from the straw. Yes it was already wet, but it didn't bother him. The drink was fizzy, and tickled his nose enough for him to crinkle it, but it tasted like strawberries so he continued to sip at it. Once he had enough of the flavor he pulled away, only to look up and see her staring at him like a dog walking on its hind legs.

"Oh wow, you really drank it." The kunoichi blinked in surprise, and he handed the drink back to her in favor of taking her popcorn. For some reason it smelled very salty, and he truly loved salty things. As she took the drink she stared hard at the straw, almost as if it might be infected or something.

"I'm not sick-"

"I know that! Gosh! I've just never... shared a drink with a boy like this before..." As another blush formed on her cheeks she quickly grew flustered, and walked past him in a hurry. He followed closely behind her to get checked in at the ticket podium.

As they made their way to the room playing their movie he began trying to piece together what she was so upset about. Why was sharing a drink with him such a bad thing? Just because he was male didn't make him have some sort of disease or anything...

Gaara followed her to the back of the dimly lit room, and they found their seats in the middle of the back row. Apparently she did not want to be seen or recognized by anyone tonight, and he wondered if he was to blame for that. He placed his gourd in the seat next to him, and noticed that the theater was relatively empty with the exception of a few couples, and a group of teens around their age in the middle rows.

The question still bothered him though, so he decided to press further.

"Why is it that you can't share a drink with the opposite sex? Is that wrong here?" The redhead spoke just above a whisper, but she still managed to bristle like a cat doused in water.

"No it's not wrong, but it's... well it's like an indirect... oh just forget it, I'm just being stupid." Sakura sighed before absentmindedly taking a sip from the drink, and as the straw stayed in her mouth her eyes widened for a moment before she slowly took it out. In a nervous daze she placed the drink in the cup holder, and formed her lips in a tight line. He furrowed his non existent eyebrows at her reaction, and snatched up the drink to take a long sip. She balked at him for a moment until he slammed the drink back in the coaster making her jump.

"I'm. Not. Sick." Gaara narrowed his coal rimmed eyes, and it seemed to make her wake up from her strange dream. She frowned back at him as he had obviously hit a nerve.

"That's. Not. The. Point!" The kunoichi defiantly grabbed the drink to take an even longer sip. Suddenly this had become a contest of which he did not understand.

"Then why is it a problem?" The redhead placed some popcorn in his mouth as threateningly as he could, but he imagined he looked ridiculous.

"Because it's an indirect kiss!" Sakura blurted out rather loudly, and got hushed for her behavior by a couple three rows down. She slumped in her seat refusing to look at him, but at least it seemed to make sense.

"We've already kissed though..." Gaara pointed out carelessly, and her eyes went wild.

"That wasn't a kiss. I didn't kiss you back. In fact, I'm pretty sure I bit you-"

"Yes, you don't have to remind me." The redhead actually rolled his eyes at that, and it felt odd for him to do something so 'rude', yet it also felt appropriate.

"Obviously I do, because you seem to think that's what a real kiss is. You don't get bragging rights from forcing yourself on me." The kunoichi hissed at him, and it stung him more than he cared to admit.

"I didn't understand what was happening at the time, and I already apologized for it. However, never have I ever 'bragged' nor will I ever 'brag' about something like that. I've never talked to anyone about it, and I assume you'll never tell a soul either-"

"Oh yes, let me just go tell all my friends how you held me against my will to feel me up, and then sucked my blood like some kind of horned up vampire. That sounds like great table conversation!" As she began to raise her voice again the same couple hushed her. "Oh shut it! The movie hasn't even started yet, get off your high horse!"

The couple quickly turned around, and moved up another row to make some distance from the now violent kunoichi. For a moment he felt a wave of burning rage under his skin, but after watching her yell at someone else he almost felt like laughing. It was almost comedic in the way she handled herself when she was angry.

"Why on earth are you smiling?" Her crosshairs were back on him, but he couldn't hold the expression back. He merely shook his head with a grin before taking another sip of soda.

Sakura watched him like a hawk as he gulped down the fluid, and he eyed her just as much while setting the drink back down. Without much of a wait she leaned over to drink from the cup rather than picking it up like a normal person. For some reason when she lowered her head to the arm rest he felt his cheeks warm. Her hair brushed into her face, veiling her from him. It was odd how something so small could do so much damage, and yet he had no clue why such a thing would have him shifting uncomfortably in his seat.

When she came back up for air she narrowed her eyes at him in challenge, and the look was enough for him to clench his jaw while keeping his eyes forward. Was she really toying with him? Did she really know how to do such things? It was odd, and disturbing, yet he kind of liked the strange attention.

The lights finally went dark, cueing that the movie was finally starting. He chose to ignore what had happened for now, and just focus on the screen.

The story was about a noble woman who had stolen the heart of a ninja who had taken up residence as her bodyguard. She had taught him how to relax, and let go, while he had taught her about the world outside of her estate. She was being groomed for an arranged marriage, but they had quickly fallen in love with each other.

At the moment the ninja was currently showing his jealousy over her suiter, thus also confessing his affection for her. The noble woman seemed to also have the same feelings, and had started to cry over the ordeal.

It was certainly an interesting experience, watching a film made it feel almost as if you were imagining it in your head. Or as if you were really there with the characters. The sense of realism was intriguing.

Sakura sniffled next to him, and he risked a glance in her direction. She had wiped a tear from her cheek before proceeding to pout in an attempt to hold back more tears. He rather enjoyed watching her reactions more than the film itself. Suddenly she glanced over at him as well, and he quickly turned his face back towards the screen.

Then it turned awkward, and fast. The characters were now kissing... and holding each other... and then feverishly kissing...

"Hey are you okay?" The kunoichi placed her hand on his forearm making him practically jump out of his skin. "Woah, is this bothering you? We can leave-"

"No. No it's fine. I'm okay." Gaara tossed some popcorn into his mouth as a way of distracting himself. This was a very intimate scene, and he had never really seen it played out so vividly before. Yes, he had come across couples in back alleys before, but he didn't stick around to watch like he was forced to here.

"It's okay if it bothers you, it kind of bothers me too." Sakura attempted to soothe him, and in her effort she lightly rubbed his arm in support. It was such a pleasant feeling, but at the moment it merely seemed to make him feel more flushed than he already was.

Luckily the scene ended, and moved onto some sort of fighting that had him a bit more invested than before. He decided that the popcorn felt awkward on his lap so he set it off quietly onto the chair holding his gourd.

The movie went on, the characters decided it was best to run away with each other, and were currently in the midst of an escape.

Sakura clicked her tongue at the couple four rows down in the midst of a heated makeout session, and he instantly felt like groaning in anguish over the public display.

"Just cause you're in the dark doesn't mean you can do whatever you want, nasty perverts." The kunoichi reached over absentmindedly for the popcorn, but ended up grabbing at the redhead's thigh instead.

He jumped slightly at the feeling of her hand gripping at him, and she quickly turned her head in horror as she stared at her traitorous hand. Like touching a hot plate she quickly yanked her hand back, almost knocking over the soda in the process. He reacted just as quickly to save her from even more humiliation of a spilled drink all over her person, and settled the cup back into it's original placement.

The lighting of the screen showed just how embarassed she was over her mistake, and he couldn't help but find it cute. Without a word he reached beside him, and handed over the popcorn he had been hoarding for the last half hour. She didn't look at him as she took the bag, but she did whisper the smallest of 'thank you's to him.

The movie ended on a somber note, with the two lovers dying in each others arms. Apparently they had jumped off a cliff into the ocean in an attempt to escape their fate, choosing to die together rather than living lives they did not want.

It was a rather cliche ending, but it still had Sakura quietly crying next to him. He patted her hand in an awkward attempt to ease her, and instead she grabbed hold of his whole arm in a strange sort of embrace. It was weird placement, he would admit to that, but he wouldn't lie and say that he didn't enjoy the feeling of her pounding heart against his arm.

The credits rolled, and the small audience started to file out. More than few girls were holding their boyfriends more closely than before, and the guys were simply laughing amongst each other discussing whatever it was they would be doing for the rest of the evening. Everyone had left by the time he had decided to try moving.

"I'm sorry." Sakura's head slumped against his shoulder, and for some reason she continued to cry. He kept still for her, and allowed her to do whatever she wanted.

"Why are you sorry? It was a sad story-"

"No... I'm sorry... for the fight we had. You've been very sweet to me, and I've been a complete brat." The kunoichi nuzzled her face further into his shoulder, as if she were trying to hide. "I'm so sad... it still hurts so much!"

Gaara didn't really know what to do in that moment. She seemed to be getting more hysterical by the second. He needed to get her mind off of it somehow.

"It's alright. I had a good time. The fighting was worth having you accidentally grope me." The redhead tried to keep a straight face when she instantly pulled away from him. Her widened eyes quickly turned angry as she punched his shoulder, and he couldn't contain the smirk that formed on his lips.

"I take it back! You're a total jerk!" She had managed to stop crying, but now she was crossing her arms like a pouting toddler.

For some reason he couldn't stop himself from leaning over, and he quickly pecked her on the cheek. She immediately tensed up, but she didn't get angry with him like he thought she would. So he chose his next words carefully.

"Thank you, I truly did have a great time. I'll remember this night fondly." Gaara pulled away gently, but felt insanely good as a smile made it's way on her face.

"Not bad for a first date, huh?" Sakura's grin grew as she showed her pride, but the sentence betrayed her in many ways. Ways that seemed to shake him slightly.

"I suppose, if you consider this my first date." He played with his words carefully, and she instantly grew confused.

"You said you had never gone out on a date before-!"

"And you claimed that this wasn't a real date. So either things have changed, or this isn't my first date." Gaara smiled at his cleverness, and she instantly put her foot in her mouth. "I wouldn't mind going on a second 'fake' date though."

"Oh for heavens sake! Just take me home!" Sakura stood with a huff before hurrying past him. He followed her like before, but this time he felt a strange sort of power coming from the situation.

He really hoped she would invite him out again.

**AN: I don't usually like writing fluff, but this shit was just too cute. Much oowoo. **

**What do you guys think of the fluff? I'm so used to writing blood, sex, and psychos that it's a bit of a strange territory for me. Obviously this is not going to be a permanent thing, but it can reoccur too. **

**Review please, I like to know your thoughts ;)**


	5. Chapter 5

A week had gone by, and their time was almost up in Konoha. The leaf ninja were beginning to return to their regular stations once more as the town finished up rebuilding, so soon there would be no more need for the sand siblings.

Gaara had finished up his last classes, and was wished several goodbyes from the students. It was bittersweet, but he was excited to finally return home.

He had visited Naruto every day in the hospital after schooling or rebuilding, and the blonde was always excited to see him. Of course there was the added bonus that Sakura always seemed to be there too, and when visiting hours were over he would walk her home. Tonight he felt would be no different.

"Sakura's not here. She stayed home today for some reason." Naruto ate at an apple while Gaara sat across from him in the visitors chair. He didn't understand why the boy was still being forced into bedrest, he looked perfectly healthy. "I know, it's weird not having her around. She's so pretty, and she smells so nice."

Gaara thoughtlessly made a noise of agreement, and the blonde practically jumped out of bed as he pointed an accusing finger at the redhead.

"AH-HA! YOU LIKE HER! I KNEW IT!" Naruto shouted while stomping on his mattress. All Gaara could do was stare at him in complete disbelief. "Welcome to the club! Prepare to be completely heartbroken! She only has eyes for Sasuke."

"Yes, well it seems that Sasuke has no interest in her. He did leave after all." The redhead countered, and instantly hated himself for it. He watched regretfully as his friend's demeanor instantly dulled from a rushing waterfall into a sad puddle. "I... I'm sorry, Naruto. That was insensitive of me. I just don't like seeing both of you so sad, so it's left me slightly bitter."

"It's okay. I understand, it's just still fresh is all." Naruto slumped back onto the bed before heaving out a heavy sigh. "I promised her that I'd bring him back. Obviously I failed-"

"He's not dead, Naruto, just gone. You'll be able to bring him home, I'm sure of it." Gaara attempted a small smile for his fellow jinchuriki, and the blonde seemed to cheer up slightly.

"You know, Bushy-Brows likes Sakura too. So prepare for an intense battle over her." Naruto grinned wide, and it filled the room with an energy that Gaara almost envied.

A knock distracted them from their strange reverie, and a pretty nurse opened the door.

"Visiting hours are over boys, it's time for your friend to head home." The kindly nurse smiled at the two while the blonde groaned.

"Aw! Five more minutes-!"

"Naruto, you have one day left, then you're set to do whatever you want. Please behave for your last night here." She instantly scolded Naruto, and he pouted.

"But Gaara's only here for one more night, let me go home early then-!"

"These are the new Hokage's orders, not mine. You'll just have to deal with it." The woman huffed before opening the door wide as a gesture for the redhead to leave. "Thank you for stopping by, Gaara, and have a nice evening."

There was truly no room for argument, so Gaara stood up to take his leave; grabbing his gourd by the bedside table.

"Gaara, if I can't see you off tomorrow then have a safe journey home, okay?" Naruto flashed his usual cocky grin, and it warmed the redhead's heart. "Oh, and tell Sakura I say hi!"

"Will do. Have a good night, Naruto." Gaara gave a curt nod before taking his leave, and tried not to laugh as the blonde got into another squabble with the head nurse. He could hear the jinchuriki bickering all the way down the hall as he walked out.

\- ... - ... -

Standing in front of her door felt strange, but all the lights were on in the Haruno house, so he couldn't just enter through the window like he always had.

Taking a calming breath he rang her door bell, which triggered off some sort of chiming sound inside. Konoha had such interesting inventions, if he were ever in charge of Suna he would certainly push for their people to move forward with their technology. However, it might take a while before they'd be able to catch up with the village hidden in the leaves.

A rather quirky man with wild pink hair in the shape of a star opened the door. He had strange sideburns, and tan skin. He didn't really look too much like Sakura, but Gaara was able to piece together rather quickly that this man was her father.

"Hello son, what can I do you for?" The man gave a warm smile, but his familiar speech was a little offputting.

"Uh... I was wondering if Sakura was home?" The redhead tried to not sound too awkward, but in reality he couldn't manage up a more mature sentence. He truly felt like his own age, which was rare.

"I should have known you'd be here calling for my baby girl. Come on in, my wife just started on dinner." The man waved him in, and Gaara stiffly wandered through the entryway. He could hear the father chuckling softly as he closed the door. "Kick your shoes off boy, we don't mind company. The more the merrier."

This man was insanely nice, and it made him realize how Sakura had turned out to be such a sweet person.

"What's your name, son?" Sakura's father held out a hand in greeting, it was incredibly odd, but he shook the outstretched hand regardless.

"My name is Gaara, sir." Gaara blinked at how strong the handshake was, but he felt like it was a sort of personal introduction. The type of grip one had could help the person on the other end determine how their character was. The redhead took a note, and shook the man's hand with more confidence.

"That's a good grip you've got! I figured you to be one of those feminine types my daughter fawns over so much, but I guess I should have known not to judge a book by it's cover!" The man let out a hearty laugh, and the old Gaara probably would have found the conversation quite offensive, but at the moment he simply felt a better familiarity with this man over the light teasing. "The name's Kizashi, by the way."

"Ah- I apologize, I wasn't trying to be rude-"

"Don't worry about it, you're fine!" Kizashi laughed again, and it put the redhead at ease. "Mebuki! We have a guest tonight!"

The man motioned for Gaara to follow him into the kitchen, and he did so cautiously. He did not want it to seem like he already knew the layout of the house as that would spell quite a bit of trouble for both him and Sakura.

"Who's here?" A woman with ginger hair asked before looking over her shoulder at them. She blinked her emerald eyes at the redhead with intrigue, and Gaara could see who Sakura had gotten her stunning eyes from.

"This here is Gaara, he's here to see our daughter." Kizashi gave her some kind of strange look that made it rather obvious that they were trying to communicate via their faces. Mebuki raised her eyebrows curiously before a small smirk formed on her aged lips.

"I see, well he'll just have to stay for dinner then. Make yourself at home, Gaara. My name's Mebuki, or if you wish to be formal Mrs. Haruno is also fine." She gave him a small smile before turning back to the meal she was currently preparing.

Mebuki seemed to be like the more protective type, but still rather laid back. The Haruno household was certainly an inviting one, and Gaara rather liked how that felt.

"Take a seat, Gaara. I'd like to have a chat before I call my daughter down if you don't mind?" Kizashi patted one of the dining chairs, and the redhead wasted no time in complying. He leaned his gourd up against the wall next to him, and politely took a seat. The man looked between Gaara and the gourd in a rather confused way, but eventually shook off whatever his opinion was on the matter.

Kizashi sat across from the redhead, and placed his laced hands on the surface in front of him. It made Gaara feel as if he were about to have dealings with a Yakuza mob boss.

"Let's get straight to the point, you said you're here to see my daughter. What I want to know is; what are your intentions-?"

"Oh, Kizashi! Don't you dare corner the poor boy!" Mebuki interrupted vehemently, but the man remained determined.

"I'm not cornering, I'm just asking a simple question! My little Sakura is a beautiful girl, and gosh darn it I'll ask whatever questions I see fit towards any teenage boy that walks through my door." Kizashi huffed proudly, obviously enjoying his role as father a bit too much.

"Sakura will hate you for it." Mebuki deadpanned, and the man instantly withered.

"She probably will, but she's my baby girl, and it's my job to protect her from lecherous boys-"

"Oh for gods sake! Does that boy look like a lecher to you?!" Mebuki pointed a spoon at the redhead, and he suddenly felt like there were too many spot lights on him.

"Mom, Dad? What are you guys fighting about now-" Sakura stood frozen at the bottom of the stairs while a look of horror washed over her.

"AH-HA! See, Mebuki?! Our daughter knows a lecher when she see's one- OUCH!" Kizashi suffered a ladle to the back of the head, and it made Gaara get a case of deja vu. It was like watching Sakura beat the life out of Naruto for his ridiculous antics.

"Oh. My. God. DAD WHAT ARE YOU DOING!?" Sakura shrieked, finally finding it in her to face the situation head on.

"I was making sure that your boyfriend here doesn't have the wrong idea-"

"HE'S NOT MY BOYFRIEND! HE'S NOT EVEN FROM OUR VILLAGE! WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU?!" The kunoichi had a truly horrifying meltdown, and it almost made the redhead want to run out of the room with how frightening she looked.

"It's okay if you have a boyfriend honey, even if your father wishes differently-"

"MOM! NO!" Sakura roared again before grabbing Gaara by the sleeve. With how she yanked him out of the chair he almost tripped. "Grab your stuff! I'll walk you out-!"

"Sakura! That's very rude! He can stay for dinner, then you can send him home." Mebuki scolded the young kunoichi, and with a growl she grabbed him by the wrist to pull him with her up the stairs.

"Leave your door open!" Kizashi hollered after them, but the second they made it to her room she slammed the door behind her as loudly as she could.

At the moment his ears were ringing, and he felt slightly dizzy from all of social anxiety, but it was still a nice change of pace from being alone with his thoughts.

"What the hell are you doing?! Why didn't you come through the window?!" Sakura crossed her arms as she hissed at him, and he could feel the heat coming from her in waves.

"I saw the lights were on, so I thought it would be inappropriate for me to come in that way-"

"It wasn't appropriate to begin with! Do you understand what you have just started?! Now my dad is going to be pestering me for weeks about you! He's going to get all worked up thinking that we're fooling around or something!" The kunoichi began pacing before eventually giving out a frustrated scream.

Gaara hadn't meant to upset her, he only wanted to see her one last time before he left for Suna. He inwardly cursed himself for thinking he could be so familiar with her and her family.

"I'm sorry, I had no intention of causing you such grief. I only wanted to share some time with you since I am leaving tomorrow-" At the sound of his soft admission her head shot up with a look of disbelief.

"You're leaving? Tomorrow? I thought you'd be here for at least another week." Suddenly her demeanor changed, and she carefully sat down on her bed for comfort. "Why so soon?"

"Ninja are returning to their posts, the repairs are almost finished as well. There is no longer a need for our services-"

"But I need y-!" Sakura quickly stopped her sentence before she could say something that she would regret later, but it wasn't hard to predict what her first words meant. "Will you come back?"

The room went silent as he looked around himself awkwardly for an answer he didn't know. Her expression dropped further, and she pulled up her knees in a tight hold.

"Heh, of course. Right when I truly start to trust someone they just up and leave-"

"You know it's not like that. You also know that I can't stay." Gaara spoke sternly, but still wandered over to sit with her on the bed. "We'll write to each other so that we won't lose what we have made here. Is that alright with you?"

She stayed quiet for a while, rocking herself while hugging her knees to her chest.

"Sakura-"

"Fine. We'll be pen pals, but if you're in the area, and vice versa we have to hang out. Okay?" Sakura huffed before wiping away a tear that had accidentally slipped down her cheek. Another attempted to roll, but he caught the tear with his thumb.

Gaara was truly enraptured by it, the fact that someone was so saddened for him to be gone was beyond him. He had never dreamed such a person would even exist. It pulled at his heart almost painfully, and the fact that he would be separated from her started to sink in.

Without thinking he pulled her into an awkward sort of hug where she was able to lean her head against his collarbone. She eventually scooted closer to properly return the hug, and it made him ache even more. He would miss her terribly.

"It's weird being here when all the lights are on." Gaara murmured softly, and got a pleasant sort of snort from her.

"Try being here during the day, it's even weirder." She snickered to herself before pulling away from him. Her body slipped through his fingers as she went to walk around her room leaving him alone on the bed.

He watched her, memorized her movements, and grasped at the blankets underneath him. He didn't want to leave, or rather, he wished she could come with him.

"Kids?" Mebuki had called from behind the door, giving a rather gracious amount of time before opening it. She peeped her face through the opening with a heartwarming smile. "Dinner's ready. Come eat."

\- ... -

"So, you're not from around here, Gaara?" Kizashi asked almost suspiciously, making the two women at the table roll their eyes at him. The redhead decided that it would be best to be as friendly with the older man as possible.

"I'm from Suna-"

"I'm sorry, but weren't you in the chunin exams with my darling daughter here? Judging by how you fought, I thought you would be quite a ruthless person." Kizashi narrowed his eyes to dissect the teen, and it made Sakura practically enraged.

"Will you back off?! He's not like that anymore-!"

"Anymore? So what your saying is that he 'was' ruthless?" The older man's expression grew even more accusing. "So have you killed anyone, son?"

"Kizashi! You know we don't mention such things at the table!" Mebuki barked at her husband before turning to Gaara sympathetically. "I am so sorry, Gaara. Please excuse my husband."

"It's alright, I understand that I'm a threat." The redhead said it so nonchalantly that all three of them gave disbelieving looks. Sakura even nudged him with her elbow as a way to tell him to keep quiet.

"So you're claiming that you are a threat? To whom?" Kizashi pressed almost urgently.

"Dad-!"

"To just about everyone, really. However, I had a wake up call rather recently, and I am working on becoming a more loving person." Gaara deadpanned once more before taking a bite of the delicious flakey fish that Mebuki had fried up. "This is very good, Mrs. Haruno, thank you for sharing your food with me."

"Oh! You are very welcome, Gaara! Please don't hesitate to grab more if you are still hungry." The older woman was very obviously won over by the redhead's smooth compliments, which made Kizashi seem oddly jealous.

"So, I'm assuming that you have killed people-"

"Dad knock it off!" Sakura slammed her fists on the table, and surprisingly Mebuki followed suit with her own shouts of displeasure over the man's behavior. It didn't stop him from glaring at Gaara.

'It is best to be honest... that is always best.'

"I have killed many people in ways that I am not proud of. However, as a ninja, that is to be expected." The redhead took a calming breath to try to keep himself from saying much more, but it seemed to have baited the man thoroughly.

"You were part of that 'Konoha Crush' plan, weren't you-?"

"That is enough, dad-!"

"Yes. I was part of the Konoha Crush." Gaara wondered if his honesty was going to get him in trouble, but then again he also felt that it was better for him to talk about the bad things rather than someone else sully his name with even more rumours.

"A lot of our people died that day. Including our Hokage-"

"We were tricked into attacking the village, and if it's any consolation our Kazekage was also killed by the same man who murdered your Hokage." The redhead remained calm while the two women looked on at the conversation anxiously. Kizashi still did not seem pleased.

"I have friends who are gone because of your village." The older man looked to be in pain over the conversation, and sadly Gaara felt that he needed to put some things into perspective for the man.

"And my father is dead because of yours, but I will not judge you personally for it." At that moment the redhead locked his haunting stare on Kizashi, but kept it non-threatening. The man blinked for a moment, and was frantically searching for some way to counter the teen.

"You're father died in the battle? I didn't know that, I'm so sorry-" Sakura went to console him, but he shook his head.

"Not in the battle, he died weeks beforehand." Gaara took a sip of his tea, and by the time he lowered the cup he noticed everyone staring at him in confusion. "Ah, forgive me. My father was the fourth Kazekage."

Someone dropped their fork, and it clattered off the table loudly. The faces of the people around him were in complete shock, with eyes the size of saucers. He cleared his throat nervously, and tried looking away from them to avoid scrutiny.

It was then that Mebuki turned to her husband, and stared him down like a hawk. The older man instantly bristled before taking a long sip of his tea.

"Your dad... was the Kazekage?" Sakura blinked owlishly at him, and as he nodded mutely her posture slumped deep into her chair. She gaped for a moment, and he could tell her brain was going a million miles per hour. "Why didn't you say something?"

"It's not necessarily something I enjoy talking about. My father did not like me very much, so I try not to think about him." Gaara finished what food was left on his plate before folding his napkin over the top of it. The young kunoichi seemed to be studying the way he moved now, which was another reason why he didn't like bringing up the fact that he was related to the Kazekage.

"Who's replacing him?" Kizashi asked gently, letting the redhead know that he no longer seemed to have dispute with him anymore. The teen felt relieved.

"I'm not sure, unfortunately I was the only one who could match my father's strength in our village, and obviously I am too young to take such a title." Gaara felt the air grow tense once more as the older man choked on his tea.

"You're as strong as the Kazekage-?!" Kizashi balked at the redhead, his face growing paler by the second.

"I would say that in some ways I am stronger than him. He had trouble keeping up with me the last time we fought, and he always fought to kill. In fact, killing me was always one of his goals." Gaara then finished his tea, and placed the cup on the table almost silently. "Thank you for dinner. I've never been invited into someone's home before to share a family meal, so this was a very special moment for me."

Once again the family went silent as they stared at him in shock. Sometimes the redhead would forget that his life up until this point had not been happy, loving, or pleasant. He wouldn't forget what had happened, but he would forget that it was not 'normal'. He would talk casually about his horrific tragedies like he were chatting about the weather, and unfortunately people would stare at him like an animal walking on its hind legs.

But that life for him was normal. It was a trivial thing for his father to try to kill him, or for him to order someone else to make the attempt. Normality was being shunned, being targeted, and losing his cool. Things were abnormal right now because no one was out to get him anymore, and he finally had friends to ease his loneliness. That was strange for him, while it was standard for everyone else.

Except for Naruto, he knew well enough about similar hatred and pain, but he turned out so incredibly good. The redhead could only hope that he could be more like him.

"Ah! Gaara, would you like dessert? I made some little cakes earlier." Mebuki was suddenly standing up, and snatching his empty plate before he could go to rinse it. "No no! You just sit right there, and relax. I've got this handled."

"Um...thank you, Mrs. Haruno." He gave a curt nod making the woman wave a hand at him dismissively, but still wearing a full smile.

Sakura said nothing for the rest of the meal.

**AN: I know, it's pretty tame, but don't worry we'll eventually get back into the swing of things ;)**

**tanuki:What kind of GaaSaku do you like to read best?**

**A: To be honest I really enjoy 'accidentally in love' types of stories. I really enjoy the types where the characters are somewhat bitter with each other, but then it turns into a "I hate you, but I can't stop thinking about you" sort of ordeal. Great example of this in a different fandom was when Buffy and Spike hooked up in Buffy the Vampire Slayer. I absolutely love them together, and I love how they just spit venom at each other then abruptly start a physical/slightly romantic relationship. Never been happier than when that ship became canon, my gawd. **

**So... yeah sorry for rambling. I like 'opposing' romances across the board Gaa/Saku or not, it makes things super interesting. **


	6. Chapter 6

"'Dear Gaara,

I heard you guys opened up a school back in Suna! How are your students? Are they anything like the ones you had here in Konoha? Those little girls miss you by the way, they wont stop talking about the teacher with 'pretty tanuki eyes'! I just about died laughing at their description of you!

There's been no news of Sasuke, and to be honest I don't think I want to know what happened to him. I still cry about him a lot, and if I find out something terrible has happened to him I know I'll go off the deep end. You're the only one who's seen me totally lose it, and with everything that's happened I wish that you lived closer to me. You really helped me that night, I was on the brink of doing something very stupid but then you just showed up out of nowhere. It was like magic!

Are you going to come visit anytime soon? My parents keep asking about you, and my dad is pestering me! I think he likes you more than my mom does, which yeah I know that's weird since he was freaking out about you when you were here, but HE WON'T STOP TALKING ABOUT YOU, IT'S WEIRD! Haha, oh, also Naruto is curious too! He misses you a whole lot, and keeps calling you his 'brother from another mother'. I think it sounds dorky, but it's sweet that you guys have this sort of cute family bond.

Anyways I miss you, do you miss me? Write back soon!

Your friend,

Sakura '"

The piece of paper held her fragrance, and he could tell that it was probably either spritzed with her perfume or it just happened to be in her room for a long time. Either way, he still inhaled the scent greedily before placing the letter back in it's envelope.

He put the letter in his desk drawer with several others he had recieved from her. Funnily enough he had been collecting them, and would sometimes take them out to read or just to smell her scent lingering on the papers.

Gaara did miss her, and when he would receive a new letter he would practically drop everything to go write back to her. He would use his best pens, parchments, and inks for his letters. He didn't really have a cologne for his pages, but he did store the parchment in the same drawer he kept his favorite incense in. The pages took the scent as their own, and he had to admit that it was a clever idea on his part.

He was so fond of the idea that he would store boxes of incense in all of his clothes drawers now, and so the relaxing yet heady fragrances soon became his own signature scent. However, he much preferred her fragrance to his own.

"'Dear Sakura,

The school is doing quite well, although I only have one student as the others are still quite frightened of me unfortunately. She is around our age funnily enough, and she hates using weapons to fight. Her name is Matsuri, and she is a gentle soul. I'm afraid she might not make it as a kunoichi, but I am living proof that people can change.

I would love to visit Konoha, but unfortunately my duties as a teacher have taken up my time considerably. Please give Naruto, and your parents my condolences.

Perhaps you could come visit Suna? A lot of plants are blooming due to the spring rains, some are even flowering with the most beautiful blossoms. The cacti are especially green, and growing to a healthy fullness.

By the way, I know it's late, but I wish you a happy birthday. Thirteen is an interesting age, or at least it was for me, but every year seems to mature me a little bit more as I'm sure it does for you as well. I'm afraid that when I see you again you'll already be a grown woman, and I a grown man, but I hope that we can see each other before that point. Although, I'm sure our friendship will remain strong no matter the age.

As for missing you I'm sure you already know that answer, but I know that hearing it repeatedly can be very comforting.

Yes, I miss you, and I am flattered that you miss me too. Hopefully we can be in each other's company soon. Wishing you the best, my friend.

Sincerely,

Gaara of the Sand '"

Gaara sealed the envelope with wax, and attached it to a hawk that would bring it to the post on the border. The hawk flew effortlessly, and the redhead watched it soar almost enviously.

\- ... - ... - ...

Gaara was exhausted, and felt his chakra waning. Laying in a pile of sand with his armor now weighing him down, he felt his end coming quite quickly.

He was filled with many regrets, but the main ones were the fact that he could not save Matsuri, and he would not see Sakura and Naruto again.

The burly ninja he was fighting swung his strange weapon towards him for a final blow, and Gaara accepted his fate as he was unable to move.

A loud clang resounded, and a flash of green flew in front of him to kick away the offending chained weapon. Rock Lee had come to his aid, with Naruto kicking down the enemy as well. The gods had finally blessed the redhead, and he thanked them with a silent prayer.

"Sorry we're late! But don't worry, we're here to return the favor! Go save your student!" Naruto grinned ear to ear as he readied himself to continue his fight.

Attempting to stand proved futile, as he started to fall the second he got on his feet. Lee caught him in time, but his head was reeling from how much energy had been forcibly drained from him.

"They really got to you..." Lee set Gaara back down gently, but before he could say anything else a chiming voice called from behind him.

"Lee, leave Gaara to me! I'll take care of him." Sakura appeared like an angel, and the redhead felt doubly blessed. She instantly put her hands on his chest, and they flowed with an energy that warmed him all over. Lee left quickly to return to the fight, leaving the two alone off to the side of the action. "Your chakra is almost completely depleted, I'm not going to be able to restore all of it but I'll give you as much as I can-"

"It's nice to see you too, Sakura." Gaara grimaced as his limbs strangely fell asleep. His body felt far too heavy. Suddenly she unbuttoned his shirt halfway, and placed her hands inside onto his net covered chest. The chakra flow tingled through him pleasantly, and he gave a sigh of relief as his energy started to return.

"While it's good to see you again, I'm not happy about the circumstances." The kunoichi narrowed her eyes at him with displeasure. He smirked slightly at her worried nature, appreciating it more than disliking it. "Why are you smiling?! This is a horrible situation you're in, do you understand that?!"

"Yes, I do. I'm just glad that I got to see you one last time. I was worried that I wouldn't have that chance." He looked on at the battle as his two friends fought bravely in his stead.

"You make it sound like you're going to die-"

"I just might if they pull any more tricks like that. That, or I'll transform which will probably kill everyone here." Gaara closed his eyes for a moment, finding them heavier than usual. "Sometimes I wonder how I'm still alive-"

"Stop saying such morbid things! You are going to live through this, and for many years to come! You hear me?!" Sakura smacked at his chest making it sting. He winced in discomfort, and she immediately went back into healing him. "Live through this, save your student, and I'll take you out on another fake date. Is that a good enough bargain?"

The redhead widened his eyes at her as she flushed under his scrutiny. She looked only at her hands, but it was obvious that she was embarassed. However, it was something that he had been thinking about for a while. He had a very memorable time with her on their 'fake' date, and he wished for nothing more than to go out on another one.

Well he had more than a few reasons to fight as hard as possible, and now he had another reason to live through the battle too.

"Okay, but I'll arrange it this time." Gaara smiled gently at her, and her blush deepened.

Some insects formed a cloud in the sky that spelled out something. As he looked closer he could see it was about that blonde girl, Ino.

"Your friend, Ino, has been injured-"

"Ino's hurt?!" Sakura looked at the bugs with a worried expression, and in her distraction Gaara rose up to stand confidently.

"Sakura, go to her." He crossed his arms proudly even though they still ached. She looked at him in disbelief before standing to challenge him.

"But you're not even halfway healed-!"

"I'll be fine, I swear it. You did promise to spend time with me after this, and I don't want to miss that." The redhead smirked before looking back at the insects. "Go now. I will finish this, and meet up with you later."

With a nod she was off, letting him know that she trusted him a great deal in able to take his word completely.

"Sakura, if I don't make it... I'm sorry." He said quietly to himself before looking over at the ninja he had been fighting with before. The man was successful in keeping his friends at bay, and he had just about enough of this ridiculous display. "I have some business to attend to first..."

He approached the group with new resolve, and Sakura's pure energy running through him

\- ... - ... -

He had fought, he had been injured, had almost transformed, and he had passed out.

It was rare, but all these things had happened in a single day. Hell, they happened in a single fight with the resurrected ninja who had originally formed the artisan village. However, Gaara had apparently lived when he was sure that he had used far too much chakra.

Waking up felt odd, as he was not used to resting, but it seemed that Shukaku couldn't function without chakra which was a godsend.

Gaara had overheard some business between Naruto and Jiraiya, the boy's mentor. The blonde would be leaving the village soon to go train. It made the redhead a bit sad, as he knew he probably wouldn't be able to see his friend for a long time.

Naruto had healed up faster than Gaara, so he was full of energy in the small hospital room. The redhead pulled back the curtain to find the blonde chowing down on some instant ramen.

"Eh?! I didn't even know you were in here!" Naruto screeched through a mouthful of ramen, and it was a rather hysterical sight. Gaara couldn't help but smile at the boy's goofy personality.

"It's good to see your almost at full health." The redhead spoke warmly to his friend. "Unfortunately I haven't been able to heal properly yet, it will be a while since my chakra is still low."

"That sand tsunami was ridiculous, you could have died!" The blonde frowned making Gaara feel slightly guilty.

"I'm fine, I'm just a bit sore. There's no need for concern-"

"Well I'm concerned! Sue me! You got Sakura all worked up too. I've never seen her run so fast when you fainted!" Naruto began bouncing on his bed with excitement. "She grabbed your face and was all like 'oh thank goodness, he's not dead'!"

The redhead felt a blush coming on, so he pulled his knees up to hide his face in. The blonde began to laugh rather hysterically at the display.

"She's been playing nurse too. I didn't know it was you on the other side, but apparently she's been in here checking on both of us. You'll have to thank her when you see her, she totally saved your ass." Naruto hurriedly drank the rest of his broth before slamming the instant cup down. He practically ripped off his bandages revealing a healthy body underneath. "I need to go home, and pack for the journey. Will you be okay by yourself?"

"I should be fine, thank you." Gaara lifted his head to smile at his friend, and felt the weight of his absence already starting to burden him.

"Okay, well..." The blonde jumped off the bed, and snatched up his clothes which were folded nicely on a chair. He turned towards the teen with a grin. "I'll see you when we're much stronger, you keep doing your sand stuff... and we can spar when I get back."

"Be safe, Naruto." The redhead smiled, even though he felt rather sad inside.

"You too, Gaara." Naruto nodded to him, and took off without another word.

Gaara hadn't felt lonely in a long while, and it stung rather bad at the moment. He grabbed at his chest, feeling his pounding heart underneath. The action alone made him feel much worse.

\- ... - ... - ...

"Hey! I'm here to check you out!" Sakura suddenly pulled back the curtain with a bright smile. He had heard her come in, but he didn't expect her to rip back the curtain so fast, he nearly dropped the book he was reading- "Oh my god... you're not... into THOSE books now are you?"

Gaara blinked at her before looking at the cover of the Makeout Paradise book that Jiraiya had kindly left on his night stand.

"It was left here for me, so I decided to read it since it was the only material available. However, it's rather interesting-"

"Gaara, its porn." Sakura withered while putting a frustrated hand to her eyes. He managed to blush almost immediately.

"I... hadn't gotten that far yet..." He started to file quickly through the pages to see what she was talking about when she snatched the book away with a scoff.

"Control yourself! God! I never knew you were such a pervert-! Wait no, I knew... I just didn't want to believe it." The kunoichi groaned before sitting on his bed, he had to move his legs quickly in able to make room for her.

"It's not like that! The only girl I've ever seen naked in person is you-"

"Keep your voice down! I try very hard to pretend that didn't happen, and I would appreciate it if you didn't speak of it! Especially in a public place!" Sakura hissed before opening the book she had stolen away from him. She read an excerpt to herself before cringing. "Oh yuck... how could that man write such disgusting crap? 'She cried out his name to the heavens as he thrusted his'- Oh gross!"

"If you don't like it, then give it back. I don't need you to read it to me." Gaara tried to act mature, but the visual he just got of the characters he had been reading about was a bit too much. The kunoichi raised an eyebrow at his mixed expression, making him even more nervous. "What?"

"'Oh Hana-chan! Kotaru moaned, feeling her hot sheath pulsing around him as they sensually moved. 'Hana-chan, it feels so good'-!"

"Sakura stop, give it back!" The redhead lunged for the book, but she pulled it away with a cheeky laugh.

"'Kotaru-senpai, you're so hard'-"

"Sakura! Stop!" He wrestled with her futilely.

"'Oh it feels so good, please go deeper, senpai! I want to feel you in my womb'-!"

Suddenly the door slammed open, making the two teens jump out of their skin.

"What in the hell are you two doing?!" Temari stomped into the room with a curious Shikamaru close behind. Sakura shoved the book into Gaara's chest before standing up ramrod straight.

"Nothing! Just joking around Ha Ha Ha." The medic tried to play it off, making Shikamaru immediately go for the book.

"You read this... to your patients?" The chunin turned through a few pages, blinking here and there at the book's content. "I haven't read this one yet, Jiraiya makes them raunchier with every installment-"

"I just found it in here today, I was making fun of him for reading it-!"

"I hadn't gotten to those parts yet, and I didn't realize it had pornographic material in it." Gaara was as calm as a cucumber, and bowed slightly. "I'll take full responsibility for the book. As I am under age I'm assuming I'll receive some sort of punishment-"

"Heh, whatever it's cool." Shikamaru tossed the book back to the redhead with a smirk. The teen just barely caught it in surprise. "They aren't bad stories, but they can get really explicit. So be prepared for that."

"Did you really just give that smutty book back to my baby brother?" Temari withered, and Gaara had to control himself from flushing at the term she had used for him.

"Why not? He's older than me, and if I can read them without an issue so should he-"

"I cannot believe you just admitted to reading that crap!" The blonde barked, but he shrugged apathetically.

"Alright, well, I need to change the patient's bandages now... you two can go back to guarding or flirting-" Sakura interjected, but recieved a scoff from the genius.

"Wow! Pot calling the kettle black! At least I'm not reading saucy novels to her!" Shikamaru got surprisingly defensive over the accusation, making everyone in the room blink at him. "What a drag, I'm out of here. You can guard yourself."

"Hey wait a minute!" Temari was quickly following him out the door, and both could be heard bickering down the hall.

Sakura and Gaara stared at the door, but as he pulled away to look at her he could see she was sporting the most vivid blush.

"So... bandages?" He queried gently, making her jolt into action.

"Yeah! Right on it!" Her blush stayed, but she tried to play it off as if nothing happened; much like with anything 'sex related' that would happen between them.

He almost wanted to open her eyes somehow, however he was a bit shy over it too. Perhaps it was best if he waited a while before making any new moves. Maybe a few years. Or never. Never was safe.

"I apologize... if my reading of that book bothered you-"

"Why would it bother me? It's not like you're my boyfriend or anything." Sakura huffed, obviously a bit bitter over the ordeal. He was curious though...

"So, it would only be a problem if we were together? Why is that?" Gaara asked gently, and as he did so the delicate hand unbandaging his neck paused with hesitation.

"Because its perverted-"

"I understand that part, but why would perversion be an issue if I were only dedicated to you?" He pressed further, and another flush came to her cheeks.

"Because you'd be imagining this guy railing this girl, who's obviously too young for him by the way. 'Oh Kotaru-senpai~' Yuck, she sounds like a middle schooler." The kunoichi finished removing the bandages with a scowl before thumbing at the skin around his neck, and shoulders.

"High school, actually. So that would make her older than you. You are also younger than me." His eyes were transfixed on hers, but she was trying avidly to avoid his gaze. However, she gave a kind of snort when she fully ingested what he has said.

"Yeah, I am younger than you, what of it? You want me to start calling you Gaara-senpai?" At that her eyes flicked up to meet his almost teasingly, and he couldn't stand to keep looking at her less she figure out that the endearing term actually had an effect on him. Positive affirmations did something to him, and he was quickly finding out that language was key in making him feel certain things. "Eh? Uh-oh, I think I figured out your kink-"

"I've never had sex so I have no kinks, thank you very much-"

"Oh? But, you're so obvious, Gaara-senpai." Sakura looked over his throat carefully before dragging her fingertips down in a feather soft touch. He swallowed by accident when her thumb gingerly slid over his Adam's apple. "So nervous, Gaara-senpai. Am I really so formidable?"

"No, I'm just trying very hard not to bite-" In his frustration Gaara blurted out some key information, and almost instantly regretted it. She paused again, and her eyes widened for a moment as she stared at his neck. He could practically see the memories flittering past her lenses in a new glaring light.

"Oh. Oh, I see. Forgive me Gaara-senp- I mean Gaara!... sorry..." The kunoichi ran a nervous hand through her pink hair as she looked off to the side incredulously. As if she were questioning herself for the use of the term. However, it made her throat incredibly visible, and his insides tightened anxiously.

'Bite her. You want to do it. Just do it. Sink your teeth in, and suck hard-'

The redhead blinked at his own thoughts. He wanted to blame Shukaku for them, but quickly found out that it was his own voice in his head. Then he wondered if he could just... ask her permission. Was that so wrong?

"Sakura..." Gaara stayed fixed on her neck, and watched her pulse quicken at the call of her name.

"What?" Sakura answered back tightly, and he felt like jumping back it was so defensive. Yet he inched closer to her, and she stiffened.

"Could I... would you let me... um... bite your neck-?"

"Are you crazy?!" She whipped her head back around to face him, and recoiled at how close he had leaned. It made him want to grab her, and maybe hold her down. "Don't look at me that way either! I'm not food-!"

"And I'm not actually hungry. It feels like hunger... but it's different... I want to eat you, but I don't want to hurt you. Quite the opposite actually-"

"That's... inappropriate..." The kunoichi went to stand but he quickly pulled her back down next to him by her wrist. "Gaara, let go of me."

"No." The redhead responded in a rasped voice, causing her to balk at his behavior. His other hand pulled her over to him by her waist, making her squeak.

"Gaara!" Sakura smacked at his chest, but he remained unphased.

He had a target in his sights, and he took the initiative once he pulled down her collar with his free hand. He leaned in, and licked at her jugular lasciviously, revelling in the full bodied shiver he recieved for his effort.

"You taste so nice..." The husky voice that came out surprised him just as much as it surprised her, but he couldn't stop himself from doing the action again. She whimpered, but as to whether it was in fear or want was left to be discovered. He started to pur. "Sakura-"

"Don't say my name like that!" She bristled before wriggling in his grip. With strong arms he held her to him, and began scraping his teeth along her neck before sucking at the area greedily. She jolted once or twice before a moan finally escaped her lips. He paused for a moment before whispering against her skin.

"You actually... like it... don't you?" Gaara panted excitedly at the new discovery, and grew even more intrigued as she started to fight him for freedom.

"I do not! It's weird-!"

"But it feels good, doesn't it?" The redhead rasped huskily, almost unable to contain himself as he sucked once more on her soft creamy skin. A whine slipped out now, and it made his skin crawl with electricity that also shot through him. He breathed sharply against her neck as she shivered. "I like that sound you just made-"

"STOP! This is embarassing!" The kunoichi squirmed until she could properly turn in his arms. He looked in her eyes needily, trying to convey that he wanted to try so much more from her, but she merely glared at him. "You want to know how it feels?! Here!"

Sakura lunged at his throat, and immediately dragged her teeth as hard as she could. The redhead felt the sensation shoot through his body like a lightening bolt. He jolted, and gripped her firmly around the waist while gritting his teeth. It was so intense straight out the gate, and it had him gasping for air. A drag of her tongue, and a hard sucking of her mouth had him groaning needily with hands searching desperately for her curves. He felt strangely stiff-

"Sakura... stop..." Gaara pleaded, but her response was to drag her tongue up to his ear before licking the outer shell. He shuddered pleasantly at the sensation with an audible needy moan. She bit at his ear lobe, and breathed hotly against his skin. "Please stop-"

"But you were so invested before, Gaara-senpai. Is it too much for you to handle-?"

"Sakura, if you don't stop we are going to have a problem." The redhead warned, but her fingers still ran up into his hair to tug roughly.

"How do you like getting your hair pulled, hmm? Isn't it such a loving and nice feeling?" Her sarcasm was thick, making him realize that this was all just a way to show him that what he had done to her was wrong. Only it wasn't having the effect that she desired, he only felt more gasoline poured onto the fire.

He was desperate, and knew that he was going to make a major mistake sooner rather than later.

"Sakura-"

"Gaara-senpai, you sound so nervous." She kissed at his neck once more until he had successfully grabbed her hand only to shove it down between them. "What are you doing?"

"Showing you what you are actually doing to me-" Gaara placed her lithe palm over his groin, and she gasped.

"What the hell are you-!?" Sakura's hand molded to the area before she realized what she was really grabbing at. By the time it hit her a fierce blush had warmed her cheeks. "Let go of me. Gaara, let go!"

The redhead truly did not want to let go of her, if anything he wanted her to grab hold of him tightly, and milk him for everything that he had. However, he realized that just by doing this he had probably jeopardized their whole relationship, and keeping her there would only do much worse. So with a sharp inhale, he let go.

Her hand drew back like snapping a rubberband, and she held it to her chest protectively. With a wary expression she looked at him, and he felt truly guilty over what he had done, but it was necessary.

"Why did you do that-?" She began with an accusing tone, making him immediately defensive.

"Why would you climb all over me? And why didn't you stop when I asked you to? That wasn't a game, Sakura, that was torture!" His voice grew louder than he had initially wanted it to, and she began to recoil, but he couldn't stop. "Torture because I know it can't go further, and if you kept toying with me I was going to lose all of that careful control I've built up-!"

"Then why did you start it? In my book you did so much worse than what I just did. I told you no so many times, and when I push your buttons just the slightest you can't handle the heat?! That's not fair!" Sakura glared before poking a finger at his chest. "If I were stronger physically this wouldn't happen. Ever. You forced my hand-!"

"But you're not stronger than me, and that's why I can't have you doing that. Unless you want something more from me, I can't control myself when you're just so tempting-"

"Well it looks like you can't control yourself AT ALL. Look at how many times you attacked, and touched me! Oh yes, you have such wonderful control of your hormones, Gaara-!"

"I never forced you to have sex with me-!"

"No! You didn't! But that's what makes you so dangerous, is that I don't know what the hell is acceptable behavior, or if I'm just being paranoid!" She began to scream at him, and he felt like lunging at her.

"How about you just do whatever you want to do instead of doing what is socially acceptable! I know you like me, so what is the problem?!" He yelled, and he didn't like yelling at people, but there was something about this that did not seem to be communicating between them. Why couldn't it just translate?

"I have never approached you willingly, and I only roll over because I have no more strength left to fight with you." Sakura's tone was cold, and heartless. It flooded through his ears like liquid ice chilling his entire body. He looked at the floor beneath him, wishing he could just be burried underneath it.

"You held my hand once, and you embraced me... just now you had bit my neck... those are advances too." Gaara looked off to the side bitterly, and knew that everything they had between them was probably over. "I didn't understand what it was at first, and recently I've been seeing it more and more. I like you... but I like you far more than what is 'appropriate'."

"Yeah, I have always known that." The kunoichi sighed as she shook her head. "But there was a time when you had seen me at my most vulnerable, and did absolutely nothing to hurt me-"

"And I never will. At least not on purpose." The redhead interjected instantly, but she rose her hand up to silence him.

"I can't take that chance anymore, unfortunately I don't like you that way. I'm sorry." Sakura quickly cut off the conversation, and stood up to cross the room. He clenched at his bedding, hating himself for every single minor mistake he had made. "You're fine to leave, I'll sign you out. Go ahead and grab your things, Shikamaru will escort you out."

It was cold, and empty. No well wishes, or fond farewells. How did it turn out like this?!

Why couldn't he have just sat there, and let this girl kiss his neck like he had dreamed about instead of becoming greedy for more?

"Sakura..." Gaara spoke up, and she paused in the doorway. "I'm sorry-"

"No, you're not. You're just sorry that I'm not more compliant."

That was like a sword to the gut, completely invalidated in a single sentence as well as insulted. Her wrath was cruel, and he wondered how she had ever turned out so hateful. Was it his fault?

He couldn't say anything further as she left, and it made him feel like a complete fool.

**AN: Here we go, that bit of drama I tend to love throwing in. How are we feeling about this current change of events? Let me know in the reviews ;)**


	7. Chapter 7

Today was the day, the day that he would don the robes of the Kazekage.

It had been a long time coming, and Gaara had worked hard for this moment. Becoming more social, understanding, patient, and wise. He had learned many lessons, taken on many missions, and studied about politics and economics. He was ready, and he was physically prepared for the task at hand.

However, a massive ceremony with a festival afterwards was a bit much, and he didn't know if he had enough mental strength to socialize that much. He'd have to use Temari or Kankuro as distractions.

The ceremony happened without much of a fuss, he had been handed the name by his original team leader, which was a sweet moment. After hearing the roaring cheers and hollers from his people he felt a little bit overwhelmed, yet he still managed to slip out a small smile as he accepted his new title.

He gave a speech, told his people of the few ideas he had been tinkering with, paid homage to the previous Kazekage (with kind words no less), and gave a small moment of silence for the departed. After all of that work the festival was in full swing, and the sun had started to set.

Right now he was traveling through the halls of the main building with his brother, Kankuro; his robes swishing as he walked on the sandstone floors. He turned a corner to find a couple arguing, and found it odd that one of them was wearing a green flak jacket-

"I already told you, I have no desire to go greet him!" The familiar bell like voice tinkled in his ears, making his heart clench.

"It is your duty! You are here on Tsunade's behalf! I don't care what kind of falling out you two had, you can't insult the new Kazekage just because you have a past with him!" Another voice, it was clearly Shikamaru.

"You go greet him! I never agreed to this! Sakura pushed passed Shikamaru, wearing a lovely jade chinese silk dress that showed off her matured form. She slammed into the redhead without realizing he was not even a foot behind them. "Oh! I'm so sorry sir, I didn't mean-"

"Hello, Sakura." As much as it hurt to see her, he had also missed her as well, and he couldn't help the small smile forming on his lips. She instantly paled, and gaped as she took a step back.

"Lord Kazekage." The kunoichi bowed respectfully, and it stung a little bit to know that she was trying to put that wall between them.

"How are you? It's been a while." Gaara remained warm, and gentle with his speech. She seemed to relax slightly, which was a success on his part.

"I'm well, thank you, and yes it has been a while since we last talked." Right then was when he noticed the biting tone in her voice, and it made him frown slightly.

It was best if he made a quick exit, rather than upset her further.

"I... would like it if we could catch up later, but right now I have matters to attend to. Please excuse me." He gave a slight bow in her direction before taking his leave, out of the corner of his eye he could see her shocked expression, and he wondered what it was that he said or did that would have caused that.

"Gaara." She called out to him, and he turned just enough to see her clearly. She seemed to be blushing slightly, although it looked rather frustrated. "Congratulations on becoming Kazekage, we hope your ties with the leaf village will only get stronger."

Sakura smiled, and it seemed half forced and yet also genuine. She truly had mixed feelings on the matter, but he smiled at her regardless.

"I wish for that as well, I have many friends in the leaf, and I care about them all very dearly." With another nod he was off to introduce himself to the other village's representatives. He could only hope that he just won points with her.

\- ... - ... -

"Gaara-sensei!" Matsuri waved at him from across the large ballroom, like everything else it was made of sandstone; only there was gold streaks in the sand... he could only wonder if that was his father's handiwork.

Gaara waved back at his former student, watching her skip giddily in a red tea-lenth dress across the dance floor.

So far it had been good, and he had impressed more than a few representatives. They all seemed eager to do dealings with him, which was interesting since the sand village had never been desirable in the past.

"Gaara-sensei! Are you having a good evening?" Matsuri smiled big as she greeted him, and he nodded to her in response.

"It has gone better than I initially thought." At his admission she seemed to brighten much more than before.

"I'm so glad, Gaara-sensei! I don't think I saw you dancing at all tonight, and I feel like no one asking you would be a tall tale, seeing as you have a sizeable fan club." The student looked behind herself to prove her point. The second his eyes rose up to a group of girls he noticed that they immediately squealed or giggled. It was awkward, but he was still flattered.

"Ah, I've had a few people ask, but I am not a dancer. I've never done it, and I probably never will-"

"That has to be the saddest thing I have ever heard." A bell like voice chimed behind him, and he recognized it immediately. "How about you actually try learning tonight instead of becoming Suna's favorite wallflower."

"Is that your way of asking me to dance Sakura?" The redhead eyed her carefully from under his hat, and was almost soothed by her playful behavior as she circled around him.

"Well, its unbecoming of any kage not to dance at their inauguration. Dancing shows confidence, leadership, as well as finesse. If you can't move your own body successfully than how on earth can you control your village?" The clever kunoichi smiled genuinely this time, and it made his heart swell to the point that he would do just about anything she wanted. "So, what's the verdict? Shall we dance, or shall we just sit here like a couple of flowers? All pretty, and fragile-"

"Alright, I'll do it." Gaara replied instantly, shocking the two women.

"Eh?! You didn't even think on it!" Sakura blanched slightly. Most likely she was trying to tease him, or back him into some sort of corner, but in all honesty he would do anything just to get close to her again.

His hand went for hers to tug her out to the dance floor, however he noticed more than a few women beginning to glare.

Matsuri included.

"Gaara, I was joking with you-"

"Well, you made very good points, and what would be better than to dance with the representative of the leaf village?" The redhead took a jab at politics, and she withered.

"Oh, so your all business and no pleasure now? Heh, that's a weird change." Sakura scoffed, but quickly flustered as he took her one hand in his, while his other placed around her waist. "Hey now, that's a bit intimate-!"

"Well, I've only ever watched so I'm sorry if my handling is lackluster." His hand slid more to her hip to give them more space, but she was still in a weird state of mind over it. He took a step to the right, then back, then to the left, and then front. Dancing in the box formation that he had seen many times, yet it surprised her that he knew such things.

"You liar, you have danced before-!"

"Honestly, I haven't. I've only ever observed, but I watched those dancers very carefully." Gaara gave her a warm smile, but then grew suspicious of her devilish expression. "What's that face for?"

"Oh, I'm just wondering what kind of dancers you're actually talking about. Seeing as you seem to focus on 'darker' things-"

"I'm not following." He honestly was lost on this one, what kind of 'dark' dances could there be? A dance of death perhaps?

"Oh, shame on me then, I thought for sure that you've must have gone to one of those sleazy nightclubs, what with your sketchy past and all." Sakura looked positively smug, and it took him a minute to understand what she was talking about.

A sleazy night club, with dancers that you watch specifically. A strip club. As much as he felt flustered over such an accusation he surprisingly kept his cool.

"Nope, never been. Only woman I've seen naked is you-"

"Gaara! Stop saying that out loud, I ought to punch you for that! You're going to give me a bad name." The kunoichi looked off to the side to avoid his gaze, and he had to say that she had matured once again. She looked more beautiful every time he saw her. The room started to blur with how they were dancing, but she remained so crystal clear.

"How about you start feeling complimented by that instead of insulted." The redhead began, and she instantly soured.

"You bringing up a horrible memory should be a compliment? Why?" Her brows furrowed as she huffed, and while he didn't like to see her angry she still seemed to look so cute.

"Because, it means that no other woman has held my interest as much as you have." Gaara narrowed his eyes knowingly, and that blush he loved so much returned to her cheeks with interest.

"Yes, well... thank you, I guess.." Sakura stumbled on her words, and grew more flustered by the second. He could just kiss those pouting lips...

'Control yourself or she'll bolt. Prove to her that you have tamed your urges.'

His eyes flicked from her lips to her eyes repeatedly, but as the song ended he cleared his throat awkwardly before pulling away from her. Surprisingly she clung to him somewhat, and grew even more embarassed when her body didn't want to let go. Finally she moved away from him, and brushed some of her hair back behind her ear.

"Thank you for dancing with me..." The kunoichi bowed sweetly for him, and he returned it as well.

"Hopefully we can get another dance in sometime tonight, I have to admit that dancing with you was my favorite part so far." The redhead grinned almost ear to ear, and once again she fell back into a bashful step.

"Since when did you pick up sweet talking?" Sakura gave a small coy smile.

"Gaara-sensei!" Matsuri pranced over to him excitedly, completely ignoring that Sakura was even there. "Will you dance with me? Please?"

He looked to the leaf kunoichi, and she snickered at him. She obviously didn't care what he did, she just wanted to watch him suffer a bit.

That was fine, it's not like he did not like Matsuri, she just wasn't his type. She was... meaker. Almost mousey. It was cute, but not his style. However, he would dance with her just for the fact of friendliness.

"Certainly, Matsuri. As your friend, teacher, and now Kazekage I would be honored." He smiled down at her, and sure enough she was practically an excitable puppy in his arms.

He performed the same steps, only a bit faster as Matsuri was more enthusiastic. She chatted away over how wonderful the ceremony was, and complimented him on almost everything, from his hat down to the way that he walked. It was obvious that he had somehow stolen his student's heart, and he felt guilty that at some point he would have to injure it by telling her that he didn't like her that way.

As they turned about the room he noticed something odd, a group of girls had approached Sakura. They seemed to be having a heated discussion, and it looked like the whole group of girls were quite enraged at the leaf kunoichi. She said something that one of them, a sand shinobi, did not like.

That's when the unbelievable happened, one of them rammed Sakura in the stomach forcing her to crash into the punch table. The music stopped, people gawked at the commotion, and while Sakura was down another girl came in to hit her in the face. Only the girl was mistaken if she thought that the leaf kunoichi would fall for such tricks again. She was prepared, and grappled the girl with ease.

At that moment, Gaara immediately let go of Matsuri, and literally marched across the ballroom. People cleared the way for him the second they saw how angry he looked. Once he had finally made it to the table, Sakura had one of the girls in a choke hold while another came up behind her to attack with an unopened bottle of wine. He didn't even have to think for his sand to immediately protect the leaf kunoichi, and he felt a sense of pride when the bottle shattered against his sand shield rather than her skull.

The girls looked up in horror, the one with the bottle tried to run but he held her fast with his sand. Soon the sand had all of the girl's limbs held down, and he looked at each of their faces carefully.

"Ah, I know a few of you... others I don't... at any rate you'll be punished accordingly for attacking the representative of the leaf village-"

"Lord Kazekage, please have mercy! We don't want to die!" The girl who had initially attacked first started to sob, and for some reason it made Gaara want to laugh. Sakura was still just trying to breathe from the rage.

"No, I wont kill you, but you ladies will be spending the night in the dungeon, and are forever banned from any festivities involving myself. Obviously I happen to be the sore point here, so if you can't control yourselves then you will not be allowed to be around me. Is that clear?" Gaara scolded, almost like a stern father would, and all of the girls clamped up with tears stinging in their eyes. He felt a little bad, but there was no room for unnecessary drama in his home or work place. "Kankuro, I'll leave them to you."

"Yeah, I got ya." Kankuro sighed before grabbing one of the girls by the arm. "Let's go ladies, be thankful that he's not actually going to punish you more for making our ties with the leaf worse!"

The puppet master gave a wink at his brother while a few more girls broke out into hysterics. The whole group was escorted out, and suddenly the young Kazekage's whole focus was on Sakura.

"Are you hurt?" His expression dropped as she tried standing up, but her dress was soaked in water, punch, and she had a few pieces of glass sticking out here and there. They both cringed at the large shard sticking out of her thigh. "I'm going to take that as a yes-"

"Can you just... get me out of here please? There's too many eyes for me to just rip it out like I usually would. I'll make your guests sick." Sakura was being oddly considerate, but yet she seemed to look a bit guilty as well. Without a second thought, he picked her up into his arms to carry her out of the room. A few people gasped at this, however he couldn't really understand why. "Gaara! You can't just pick me up like that! It's too personal-!"

"Just be quiet, I really could care less at the moment." He quickly took his exit with her cradled in his arms, and he knew he was going to get berated for it later.

"Oh my god, if the shit hits the fan it's your fault. Do you realize how many rumours there are going to be now-?!"

"Like what?" Gaara asked as he walked through the darkened halls towards his own quarters, but she merely grimaced.

"That I'm sleeping with you for one!" Sakura winced then as her leg had twitched, and he moved his pace a bit faster.

"I don't see anything wrong with a rumour like that, you're a very beautiful kunoichi that is the apprentice to the hokage, I'm a young and powerful Kazekage. I'd say it's not a bad match." He smirked at that, almost having to hold back a laugh as she gawked at him.

"Do you realize that I could also be seen as swaying your emotions? Thus changing your thoughts for the betterment of my village?" As she spelled it out, he found he could sympathize with that. She was a threat because she was foreign, and that made him a little upset. He wanted nothing more than for his village, and many other villages to have peaceful relations.

"They didn't just choose me because I am strong, Sakura. If they had then I would have been Kazekage when my father died." As he got to his room, he opened it skillfully with one hand keeping her held securely against his chest for the barest of moments. She looked around the room cautiously as he went to put her down on the couch. "So to clarify further, I am not stupid, nor do my people believe I am stupid. I doubt they feel that I can be so easily swayed-"

"If I promised you a night with me, to where I would oblige to any desire you might have, would you grant me anything I wanted in return?" Sakura eyed him dangerously, and he felt his mouth go dry. That thought did hit him where it hurt for a moment, but he quickly shook it off.

'She's trying to trick you, and throw you off to prove a point. Don't bend to her will.'

"I think you'd be satisfied enough just being with me-" Gaara bit teasingly, and got an actual laugh out of her. He bent down to his knees inspect the glass on her legs.

"Wow! Aren't we a little too confident? Especially considering the fact that you're a virgin." The kunoichi teased mercilessly as always, and he wondered why they couldn't just have honest heart to hearts rather than competitive ones.

"You make it sound like you're not." The redhead pinched carefully at a shard of glass, and pulled it out as gently as he could so as not to rip the skin further. It would hurt more, but it was safer this way. She winced, but she didn't cry or groan, she was so much stronger now than when he last saw her.

"If I said that I wasn't, how pissed would you be?" At the mere mention of her sleeping with someone else the hairs on his body rose up. He felt a fire burning somewhere, and a possessiveness too. He had to control this feeling, and fast.

"It's not my place to say how I feel about it." Gaara answered carefully as he slowly pulled out a larger piece of glass just above her knee. It was deeper than he had thought, so when blood started to pour rapidly from the open wound he did something rather stupid.

Like an animal, he put his mouth on it.

"Gaara!" Sakura shrieked before slapping the back of his head like he were some sort of dunce. He winced at the smarting sting on his scalp, but he quickly snatched her hand to place over the pulsing wound once he pulled his mouth away.

"Heal it quickly, I think the glass hit an artery." He turned away from her to stand, and thinking quickly he rushed to his standard ninja packs he wore for missions. Sure enough he had a first aid kit, and brought it over for her to wrap up whatever she couldn't heal. She was healing the gashes, but her expression was one of embarrassment. "Is something wrong?"

"Yeah... I just hit you for your weird attempt to stop me from bleeding out. Now I feel kind of bad." The kunoichi sighed as she finished up healing the gash, leaving only the largest piece sticking out of her opposite thigh. She furrowed her brow at it.

"Hey, it's fine if you hit me. As far as I'm concerned your trust in me was destroyed a long time ago, so it's understandable." The redhead made to soothe her, but her frown stayed as she stared hard at the piece of glass. "I'll pull it out, and this time you can put your hand over it to stop the bleeding."

"Okay. On three then. One. Two. Threeeeeagh-!" Sakura groaned painfully that time, and unlike the others this one seemed to be in a very bad spot close to her inner thigh. It was deep, and it was pouring red all over her dress as well as the couch.

A main artery for sure, this was more precarious then he had thought.

As the shard came out he noticed that it had originally cracked in half lengthwise upon entry into her skin. Another long shard was still inside, and she would be in a lot more trouble if he didn't get it out.

"It cracked in your skin, there's half remaining-" He pulled with his fingers, and it slipped. It had gotten to a point where he literally had to rip it out by cutting his own hand, his sand beginning to swirl around the surprising wound. She was breathing hard, and she didn't look very well. He placed her hand over the wound, and she attempted to heal it, but it was taking longer than expected.

They should have done that one first... she was quickly running out of energy due to blood loss. Suddenly she started to tip over, and her hand slipped off her thigh leaving it open to bleed.

"Damnit!" He placed his mouth over the wound, and searched for the sash to his robes on his person. Once found, he went above the wound and tied the sash around it very tightly before wrapping it around the wound itself. With more gauze, and bandages he continued to wrap tightly at the wound. "Sakura, hey!"

Gaara tapped her cheek a few times, and she stirred slightly. He searched through his med kit to find something of nourishment to help bring her blood sugar up. He found a one of the military ration pills he had in his pack, he bit it in half, and popped the rest into her mouth.

"Chew it... please chew..." When she wouldn't move he decided to do it for her. Plucking it out of her mouth and placing it into his own, he chewed up the pill before forcing it back in with his own tongue. It was awkward, and a bit gross, but she needed to eat it quickly less she actually get permanent damage. God forbid he go to the medics with her, a rising star medical ninja, completely bloodied in his arms. She was beginning to become unresponsive, so he gave her a harder slap to wake her up. When she jolted he almost shouted. "Swallow it!"

Sakura did so, and coughed. She kept gulping back the drying ration, but it was at least in her system. Any second now she would be waking up with a great deal of adrenaline-

Something clocked him hard in the face, and he realized it to be her fist. His sand armor came to his aid, but cracked painfully under the blow. He shook it off, as he heard her gasping violently before a harsh growl escaped her.

"Sakura, heal your leg. It's still bleeding." The redhead reminded her, and she nodded quickly while placing her glowing hands on the wound.

This had turned into such a mess when he was just trying to take care of her. Why was it that whenever he tried to be better with her everything just seemed to go completely wrong?

"It's okay now... it's okay..." The kunoichi panted before laying back on the couch. The smell of her blood was thick, and it was beginning to break down all sorts of walls he had taken forever to build.

'No no no! NOT NOW!' He inwardly screamed at himself while grabbing at his skull. The sweet stench of metal invaded his senses setting off his blood lust, and he felt his mouth begin to water mixing with the left over tang of her blood in his mouth.

"Gaara, it's okay. I'm fine now-" Sakura reached out to touch him, but he flinched away from her almost fearfully. "Hey... what's wrong?"

His breathing grew heavy, and his palms grew sweaty. He just wanted another taste, just one bite... just one bite...

"You need to leave." Gaara stared at the blood on the floor, and wondered if he could lick the red drenched carpet.

"Why? We just fixed it, it's going to be okay-"

"No it's not. You need to leave before I end up hurting you more." He literally bit his tongue after saying something so stupid, but she didn't seem to freak out. In fact, she merely sighed.

"Go wash all the blood off, and I'll get this place cleaned up." The kunoichi spoke with the utmost care, and he felt instantly soothed. "When the blood is gone I'll let you know. Until then just relax in a nice hot bath."

How did she know that it was her blood that was setting him off? Was he so obvious?

The teen's head was spinning, and all he could do was listen to every step she ordered him to do.

It was funny, a foreign ninja telling the Kazekage to go take a bath; funny enough to make him give a slightly crazed laugh while he rinsed the crusted red from his porcelain skin.

**AN: sorry for the delay, life called me up lol. Review please, I love your guys' thoughts!**


	8. Chapter 8

**AN: Sup guys, it's been a minute. Been doing a lot of stuff, and writing for another GaaSaku fanfest (Enslaved was my last fanfest piece, go check it out if you like smut heh heh heh ;3 ) anyways, hoping to keep posting new chapters of my ongoing plethora of fan fictions. Hope you guys are still on board! Smooches!**

Gaara sat in the hot bath for what seemed like hours, at one point he had been so zoned out that he hadn't noticed her come in to take away his bloodied robes.

Sakura had somehow cleaned herself up quickly, got changed into a plain white t-shirt with her classic black shorts, and had fresh clothes waiting for him as well as a fluffy towel. At the last minute of her bustling about the bathroom he quickly snatched her wrist as she passed right next to the bath.

"Gaara, let me go please." The kunoichi was completely calm, and with literally no trace of fear in her eyes. He began to stand up from the steaming bath, using her arm as an anchor to pull. She squeaked for a moment, and rapidly turned her whole body to face away from him.

"I didn't mean to scare you-"

"No! No, you're not scary. It's just... a lot of skin..." Sakura snagged the towel from the stool next to her, and turned around to give it to him. Her eyes flicked around his frame as she handed off the towel, and he did not fail to notice the way she took in his image.

'Well, that's a bit unexpected.' The redhead mused to himself with a smirk before rubbing the towel over his wet crimson hair. He brought the cloth over his pale shoulders, and carelessly took a step up out of the waist deep basin.

Another squeak had his attention on her.

"I-I'll just... wait outside." The kunoichi fumbled with her words, as well as her breathing before power-walking towards the door. Before she opened it he heard her vehemently whisper to herself, and luckily since he was the host of a tanuki spirit his hearing was quite good. "Oh my god, Sakura you idiot. What the hell are you doing staring at him-"

Oh how Gaara wanted to make her stay, and fluster her even further. It was so enticing that he started to dig deep for topics to bring up just to keep her there with him.

"Sakura." The redhead spoke calmly, but she still managed to practically jump out of her skin. "Why did that girl tackle you? It looked like you were arguing... but for you to be in a catfight is not common."

There was a moment of silence, and her hand twitched on the door handle.

"She asked me what I thought I was doing flirting with the Kazekage. I told her I wasn't, and she called me a 'fucking liar'. Then she told me that I was too ugly, and you were too 'virtuous' to sleep with me. That's when I said something I really shouldn't have... and she jumped me." Sakura turned around just as he was halfway done wrapping the towel around his waist, she managed to catch his bare hip for the smallest of moments, and he got to witness her flush a lovely shade of red.

"What did you say?" Gaara pressed on casually, ignoring her roaming eyes and flushing cheeks.

"I... told a half truth..." The kunoichi finally sighed, and placed her hands over her face shamefully as if she was preparing to confess something bad. "I told her that she was mistaken, and that we had already slept together. I also told her that you were far from innocent, and that you like it rough..."

Her voice had gradually gotten higher, and higher, until her last word practically squeaked as it left her throat.

He was shocked that she would be bitter enough to make up such a scandalous story, but if she had actually permitted him to go as far as he actually wanted he was certain that he would have matched the description well.

"Yet it was you who said it wasn't okay for me to be carrying you due to rumors-"

"Oh, I'm sorry, 'Mr. Kazekage'! Your groupie just called me ugly, and you think I wouldn't rub what we had together in her face?" Sakura bit both sarcastically as well as bitterly, but it was the words 'what we had together' that had his interest piqued.

"Well, what did we have together, Sakura? You make it sound like we had a special relationship." Gaara moved across the bathroom until he stood merely a foot away from her, dissecting her with his eyes. She shied almost instantly as he managed to tower over her with his intimidating presence.

"I don't know what it was... it was innocent... but it was really physical. Probably psychologically damaging-"

"Would it still be damaging? Or is it more acceptable now?" His arm rested on the wall next to the door, allowing him to both cage her as well as lean in. She flushed even darker.

"It would be worse!" The kunoichi huffed, trying desperately to regrow her backbone. He chuckled warmly all the same.

"Why?" The redhead stared deeply into her jade orbs, and he saw her grow painfully still under his gaze.

"Because... we're older... we're not children anymore, and the things we did as kids are not longer appropriate. It was just playing back then-"

"We were hardly children, Sakura, and I never played. It was always real for me." His tone lowered, and she trembled almost fearfully. "I didn't want to hurt you though... so I stopped myself before it would get too extreme-"

"It was still messed up, Gaara. I don't know where you got your weird perverted ideas from, but I'm still confused on what physical touch is acceptable, and unacceptable. You damaged that part of me-!" She gasped as his face lowered towards her neck, and she stiffened up as if waiting for an axe. Yet, he merely stopped at her ear to press his cheek to her own.

"You want the true answer to that question, what is acceptable or unacceptable?" Gaara waited, breathing calmly as hers became erratic. She swallowed hard before finally nodding to him, and he grinned. "That right there, that is the line that divides the two. It's called 'consent'."

The kunoichi let out a shaking exhale, and he could see the nervous sweat forming on her skin.

"So, if I touch you... like this-" The redhead ran his fingertips along her exposed thigh, and she jumped in shock over the sensation. "-and you don't appreciate it, then let me know. I'll respect your decision, however there are many men who don't respect such decisions, and do as they please. That is the moment it becomes unacceptable, that is when your consent has been invalidated."

"All this coming from the guy who held me down to grope me, and bite the crap out of my neck-"

"I was a very disturbed person once, but I assure you I have made changes." Gaara brushed her hair behind her ear gently, and reveled in her shivers.

"You told me you were going to hurt me if we stayed in your room any longer, what about that?" Sakura huffed, but he couldn't stop himself from getting dangerously close to her ear.

"I warned you, had we stayed in that situation it would have been you consenting to me doing something less than honorable. I gave you a choice to stay, and become my victim, or go, and leave me to my own devices. Although I do like this alternative, I really do enjoy having you around." The redhead spoke just above a whisper in his dusty tone, making everything as crystal clear for her as he could.

Her trembling form underneath him made him want to pounce, but he knew that he couldn't do it without her wanting it first. He wondered if there would ever be a day where she would actually be interested in such activities.

Well, perhaps he could just ask her outright. Why tiptoe around it?

"Sakura, I have a question for you, and I have no desire to offend you in any way so I request that you handle it with maturity. You don't have to do it, but I figured I'd ask all the same as you know I am making changes as to how I treat others. You are especially important to me, and I want nothing less than your happiness. So please humor me, and this question I ask of you..."

Gaara waited again for her cautious nod, and when she finally made the motion he felt himself grow giddy with excitement. He straightened enough to be at perfect eye level with her, but still within a small distance from her face. He kept his voice unbelievably calm, and his eyes remained piercing while he mouthed his next words.

"Would you like to make that rumor true with me?"

Sakura's sharp inhale, and fearful exhale had him teetering on what her answer would be. She could either be just as excited as he was, or she could be scared shitless. Either way, her bashful anxiety left him high as a kite.

To make the line more apparent for her, he ran his fingers against her arm trailing up to her shoulder; leaving goosebumps in his wake. Her breath quaked violently as those same fingers glided across her cotton shirt, and up her neck. Still he recieved no answer.

"It's just an option, I won't be offended if you say no. However, I would be more than honored if you said yes." His porcelain fingertips pet softly at her jawline, and ran through her shining hair. The redhead pulled back further to look at her expression at a different angle while she refused to respond.

The kunoichi looked like a deer caught in headlights; she was much more beautiful than a doe, but her cautious nature was far too similar to such prey. He could practically hear Shukaku screaming at her to bite her neck, although half the time he couldn't tell if it was the beast or himself inwardly snarling.

He decided that speech was always best nowadays, so he tried coaxing her with his words.

"I know I can be... daunting, but I promise that your satisfaction would be my top priority. I can be very gentle with you, if that's what you need. I want more than anything for it to be a good experience for you." He inched forward slightly while his eyes darted between jade orbs and rosebud lips-

"I... I don't... Gaara... this..." Suddenly something snapped as she began to speak, and her delicate hands went up to his pale chest desperate for distance. "I-I'm not ready! Please-!"

"It's alright, Sakura. It was only a question. Like I said, you can say no, I won't get angry." The disappointment was certainly evident in his demeanor, but he gave her the space that she wanted by taking a step back. "See? I'm not bitter, and I don't hate you for your answer-"

"I... I'm just not ready for something like that..." Sakura crossed her arms protectively across her chest, but he noticed that she didn't tell him 'no' outright.

He supposed playing one more card wouldn't hurt.

"If you ever want to, you have my permission." The redhead attempted a small smile for her, but her brows furrowed in confusion.

"Permission to what?" Her curiosity was thick, and also quite innocent. It made him warm all over.

"Permission to take whatever you desire from me. If you feel curious you're more than welcome to use me as you see fit, and if you don't want me to try anything I will honor that-"

"Could you really do that though? I mean, wouldn't that temptation be too great for you?" The kunoichi was suddenly a bit more confident than before, and he realized that giving her all of the control was probably his best option.

"If it means that I get to be even one centimeter closer to you, I don't mind. I won't compromise a good thing just for one 'big' moment, not when I could have a plethora of small moments. Small moments that mean so much more than just that singular 'ideal' one." Gaara turned, and leaned against the wall next to her.

His mind wandered over the thought that he may have made a mistake in making such offers, as he might actually be scaring her away. However, the way her gaze followed his partially naked body with intrigue left him cocky. He felt that she might actually be starting to desire him in some way, like he did for her.

The redhead closed his eyes with a sigh.

No, this was most likely too much for her. She had stated how she had many issues now because of his strange behaviors, what made it any different now? She was older, yes, but that didn't just magically make her into some sort of teenage hormonal mess-

"Thank you, Gaara. It's kind of you to make such 'sacrifices' for me, however I don't think it would be good for me right now..." Sakura sighed, and it almost sounded as if she was dissapointed.

But, with who was the question.

"Like I said, it's merely an offer. You don't have to do anything if you don't want to... and I hope that this doesn't affect our friendship-"

"What friendship? As far as I can tell you only want one thing from me." The kunoichi suddenly straightened, and turned herself to face him. "Why should I ever trust you?"

All those things stung him in a place that was still raw, and fresh. Perhaps she was trying to push away from him, to push away from the sins he carried.

"Because I care about you. Even though I might desire your body I also desire your happiness, and your happiness will always take precedence over my own cravings." The redhead eyed the floor, almost questioning whether he could stay true to those words or not. He was sure that's how he felt in his heart, but his instincts seemed to like to take the wheel more often than not. However, he was working on such flaws.

Smooth warm petals graced his cheek along with her soft inhale dragging air along his skin. If he wasn't heated before he certainly was now.

It was longer than necessary, this sweet kiss that she was giving him, and it made his fists clench as a true lusting for her made it's way into his chest. He had to keep control, he had to keep his word to her. He needed her to trust him. When she broke away the moistened sound of her lips parting from his cheek made him nearly swoon, and he had to make a great effort not to make a wanting expression with his face. So instead he merely clenched his jaw, and stared harder at the floor.

"You really are a good man, Gaara." Sakura smiled before giving his shoulder a squeeze, and he couldn't even look up at her as she took her leave of the bathroom.

He stood there, alone, wondering how the hell he could get her to think his way. How to get her to like him just as much as he liked her. It was strange, and he felt a bit disgusted with himself over it.

"I'm not a 'good man', Sakura, I'm just good at hiding my true intentions." Gaara spoke bitterly to himself before sliding down the wall onto the floor. He stared at his hands, and his body as if they were his enemy.

The inner war had only just begun.

\- ... - ... - ... -

"Lord Kazekage, I'm surprised to see you out and walking around this afternoon. Don't you have mountains of paperwork to do?"

The snarky yet chiming tone grew louder as she approached his back, her footsteps echoing proudly down the sunlit sandstone halls. He turned with a small smile, regardless of how he had truly felt. In all honesty, he was still beating himself up for his behavior last night.

"I am taking a break from my duties, as is customary in all forms of work." Gaara gave off a professional air, but it didn't seem to sway her in any way. Her eyes sized him up for a moment with scrutiny before she lifted a well groomed brow.

"You're on break?" Sakura said it casually, but still crossed her arms in a scrutinous fashion. "Let me guess, you're going to go wallow in saké for the next hour?"

At that his expression became confused.

"Um... no. I'm not old enough to drink-"

"If you're old enough to be a Kage then they should let you drink alcohol. Doesn't sound fair to me, honestly." The pinkette turned her head with a sigh, and dropped her arms to her sides. It were as if she were sad, or dissapointed.

'Does she want me to get her drunk or something?' His mind raced with many questions, and even more confusing answers.

"Were you wanting to get a drink with me-?"

"Heavens, no!" Sakura balked at him as if he had made the most ridiculous of assumptions, yet he wondered as to how he could come to any other outcome due to the context he had been given. "I just assumed all kage were like Lady Tsunade... the job is too stressful, so they have a bad habit on the side that they like to indulge in."

The redhead blinked at her reasoning, the urge to laugh bubbling up through his chest. He never would have imagined the rumors about the newest Hokage to be true, but the fact that they were made it all the more hysterical. However, for Sakura's sake he managed to keep himself in check.

"The only 'bad habit' I have is stalking you, remember-?"

"Yeah, don't remind me." The kunoichi rolled her eyes at him making the young man laugh genuinely. His happy expression seemed to ease her initial discomfort, and he was even more glad for it.

"Now, how may I be of assistance to you?" Gaara crossed his arms proudly, yet felt like said pride was crumbling under her now penetrating stare.

It was awkwardly silent for a long while, but just as he was about to give up on being social she gave an exasperated sigh.

"You promised me a fake date." The pinkette huffed with a small blush, but still managed to keep her head on her shoulders even with him now gawking at her in disbelief. "When you were in Konoha last... we were going to go out on another fake date-"

"I remember that clearly enough. I also remember you basically telling me how horrible of a person I was." The redhead said it with a bit too much bitterness, which caused him to cringe at himself when the guilt showed on her features. "Forgive me, I meant no disrespect. Obviously I would like more than anything to spend time with you, I am merely concerned that my company is not something you should wish to keep after so many... instances."

At that Gaara turned away from her, and began taking steps to put distance between them to avoid any further damage.

"It is best if I leave you be, I am obviously not good for you-" The redhead choked on his last words as he was violently yanked back by a strong arm. As he came face to face with her fierce eyes he noticed a fire there that he had never seen from her before.

"What the hell is that supposed to mean? You don't get to decide whether you are good for me or not. I decide that, and I've already made my decision!" Sakura turned then, his wrist still firmly in her grasp as she marched forward. "We're going on a date!"

Well, he wasn't going to argue. She obviously had a plan, and his fate seemed to be in her surprisingly strong hands.

He allowed her to do whatever she wanted with him, like always.

They walked- more like 'stomped' through the building until they made their way outside to the bazaar, where the pinkette promptly stopped before turning expectantly towards him. He was confused, and it showed enough to make her give an impatient groan.

"Show me what you like to do here, your favorite place to eat... hell even the best spot to watch a sunset or something that makes you smile!" Sakura barked at him while he blinked owlishly.

What did he like to do in his free time? Well he enjoyed tending to cacti, and reading, and occasionally going out into the desert to wield his sand without restrictions-

Alright. He had to come up with a plan, and fast. This could very well be a test as to how hospitable he could be, and should be expected of a Kazekage. To know the ins and outs of his village, this should be a piece of cake for him.

Yet... he also wanted to cater to her, as he already knew what she liked, but he didn't think anything here would interest her.

'Just move, just do something! Anything!' He yelled at himself internally, and felt Shukaku laughing at him from the depths of his mind.

'Just show her around. This place is strange enough to someone like her that it will be interesting regardless of what you do.'

The beast seemed to be calm today, which was a blessing, but he also felt himself agreeing with him.

Yes. He would simply show her around. No harm in that.

"Follow me." Gaara finally nodded, and watched as her stern features turned into a happy smile that left him melting in the hot midday sun.

The redhead began walking ahead of her, but she quickly ran up to link one arm through his own. He tensed at first, but quickly became accustomed to it.

They walked through the spice vendors, and he told her to breathe in deeply. When she did he could see the faintest blush on her cheeks, and a content smile on her rosy lips.

"It smells like heaven... like spice, herbs, flowers, tea... all things good... that's incredible!" Sakura clung to him for moment like a giggling schoolgirl, and while it was outwardly childish he couldn't help but grin from it.

"It is an otherworldly smell, it is one I've never found replicated. It is only in this place with all of these wonderful things that you can find such a scent." Gaara stated proudly before they exited that part of the bazaar, and quickly came to the food stalls. He searched around, and found a tucked away teahouse that he enjoyed eating at in his days before starting the journey into becoming a Kage.

They slipped in unnoticed for a moment, but once they sat down at a table the staff and patrons seemed to immediately swarm them. He wasn't used to the great swell of people surrounding him, and was slightly awkward to greet them all, but tried his very best. At any rate, his kindness showed enough to make the girl sitting across from him smile again, and that was enough to make him feel good.

The crowd thinned, and he ordered their food for them figuring what she might like best off the menu. She seemed to appreciate his assistance in the matter, as obviously she wasn't accustomed to Suna's quisine.

When they were given two small coffee cups, she tipped the cup nervously in her hands.

"Coffee?" The pinkette looked up at him, and he gave her a knowing smile.

"Suna coffee. It's thick as it is ground into a fine powder, and settles at the bottom. It's bitterness is quite intense, yet there is a fruitiness there that is coveted." The redhead sipped at the small cup without making any sort of strange face at the drink. He had been drinking the stuff for years just to try and stay awake all the time. When she followed his lead, and choked on it, he nearly snorted at her. "Like I said, it is very bitter-"

"I bet you live on this 'mud', huh?" Sakura snickered at first, but managed to take another sip without cringing. "It's not too awful once you get past the first sip."

"It honestly gets better each time you taste it." Gaara chuckled for a moment before eventually acknowledging her first question. "As for how often I drink it... every day. A few times a day. Shukaku tries to convince me to drink something else, but he's sneaky like that."

"What does Shukaku like to drink?" The pinkette asked casually, almost as if she were talking about his pet or something of the like.

It astounded him, as he never had people willingly want to know more about the beast inside of him. Yet, here was this beautiful girl with a delicate build asking fearless questions about the monster inside of him. It was so surreal, yet he loved every minute of the chatter.

'I like saké. Alot.' Shukaku made his presence firmly known, yet it did not seem intimidating in the least. This was so different then the other social instances he had ever dealt with before.

"He says he likes saké, but obviously I am not legal to drink so he's a bit out of luck on spirits." Gaara smiled as he felt the beast grumble inside of him as a result of being denied his favorite drink.

"Well, he's a tanuki right? It makes sense as to why he'd like saké." Sakura giggled for a moment as she nibbled on a piece of naan, then seemed to come to a shocking realization. She started outwardly laughing, which confused the young kazekage across from her.

"What's so funny?" The redhead asked with a growing smirk, and while she tried desperately to hold onto her giggles she only managed to fail at it.

"I don't want to say-!"

"I won't get upset, trust me." Gaara said it with confidence, but she shook her head vehemently.

"You won't, but he will!" The pinkette tried to hide her rising blush complimented by another bout of giggles. Obviously this had something to do with tanuki, and he was beginning to catch on as to what was so humorous to her.

"If this has anything to do with testicles-"

At the mention of the word she broke out into hysterical laughter. He watched her have her many laughs, and waited patiently for her to calm before continuing.

"Tanuki don't actually have oversized testicles. They are normal sized like every other animal. That little 'fact' is an old folk legend." The redhead's eyes danced with mirth as she finally ingested what he had said. Her smile remained, but her giggles had stopped all the same.

"Why did that legend even start? So obscure!" Sakura took another sip of her coffee, and it seemed to be longer than normal. He felt proud of the fact that the drink was growing on her.

"Back in ancient times the scrotum of a tanuki was used to make gold sheets. A ball of gold was placed in the sack, and pounded out into a fine sheet. Since the scrotum was so durable and stretchy it was quite useful for this task. They claimed that the scrotum could stretch across eight tatami mats-"

"That is so freaking weird!" The pinkette nearly squeaked, which had the young kazekage across from her chuckling.

"Indeed, but that form of gold sheet making has become obsolete. Instead it turned into a rather hysterical legend." Gaara smiled, and just as she was about to speak their food was placed down in front of them.

Seared, finely cut meats were displayed along with sliced peppers. Her eyes took in the meal hungrily, and she gave an almost wicked grin.

"This looks awesome." Sakura's smile reached her ears, and with her hands clapped together she gave a slight bow. "Thank you for the meal."

The redhead watched on warmly as she ate the cuisine, enjoying every mouthful ecstatically.

\- ... - ... -

A Suna sunset. Nothing could ever compare to the gold and red hues.

The sounds of the city bustling far behind them could still reach their ears, but as the sun went lower those sounds too also seemed to fade. The sky was clear, the light swirling in the shining heat left over from a burning day. The only thing more beautiful was the moon, and he knew that there was to be a full moon tonight as well.

Gaara inched a bit closer to the pinkette as they sat on the edge of the world, and she said nothing even though it was obvious that he was growing closer. Maybe she was considering letting him hold her hand, or wrap and arm around her-

"I wish I could stay here longer." Sakura murmured, and the mere sound of her voice had him almost breathless.

"...I wish you could stay forever." The redhead spoke just above a whisper, studying her profile like a work of art while the red sun vanished under the sandy dunes. Her face turned towards his, her eyes sweet and yet sad at the same time.

She leaned forward, grabbing the back of his neck. His heart raced for a moment thinking that she might willingly kiss him. However, it was not meant to be as she merely pressed her forehead against his own with a sigh.

"Stop falling in love with me." The pinkette gave a breathless laugh while closing her eyes, then took a sharp and painful inhale.

His world began to shift into a dark corner.

The comment hurt him, but he knew that it was hurting her too. His hand came up to brush through her silky pink locks, thumbing along her cheek lovingly despite her telling him to stop falling for her.

He didn't want to stop. He wanted to keep going, and take as much as she would allow him to have while giving her anything she desired in return. He would give her the world if she would only let him have a small piece of her heart.

"Gaara... we can't get this close..." Sakura tried turning her face away from him, but he brought her back just enough to kiss the corner of her mouth. She stayed calm and still, allowing him to place small kisses along her cheek and jaw. "I can't give you what you need... I'm sorry."

Gaara stopped everything, and reluctantly slipped his hand away from her soft face. He backed away from her in pain, and laid all the way back to stare at the darkening sky.

The peeking stars morphed and melted as his eyes started to burn. The tears blurred his vision until he quietly blinked them out.

His heart felt like it was breaking-

The pinkette laid down with him, and took his hand into her own. He cursed himself for allowing the small action to make his heart race with false hope.

"I had a wonderful day today... and when you come back to Konoha we can hang out together again-"

"I don't think I can go on any more of these 'fake dates'... it's killing me." The redhead remained brutally honest with her, but refused to look her way. Suddenly he felt her arm reach across his chest, and hold him in a tight embrace.

"That wasn't my intent..." Sakura croaked as she started to cry, making his guilt burrow deep into his once hollow heart. With a frown he rolled towards her to hold her back even tighter, and kissed the top of her head. Her fingers dug into his clothes, and pulled tight in a desperation that strangled him.

"I know." Gaara whispered, his lips mouthing the words against her soft skin.

'I know... you will never love me.'

**AN: Ouch! I love it :) hope you guys are still liking what I'm putting out. Reviews keep me motivated, so tell me exactly what you think. I accept criticism too, but everybody knows that compliments are sweet :3**


	9. Chapter 9

The chunin exams, the attempts on his life, and watching her run up to his city's doorstep with her friends in tow. All of it made Gaara more stressed out than he had ever dreamed.

He had just interrupted a rather immature display, a fight had broken out between teams over food. Then a large insect looking creature decided to hone in on the groups to attack in the middle of the night.

It was an absolute nightmare.

"You seem to be having a great time." Sakura waltzed up to him in the chilled night air with a smirk on her face. Her smug expression was so insufferably pleased that it made the redhead want to cover it up with his hand.

"Yes, a wonderful time indeed." He replied a bit more snappy than what was usual for him, but it didn't seem to phase her much. In fact she seemed giddy over the response.

'Torturing me again, how cruel.'

"Oh poor baby, is being Kazekage too hard for you? Perhaps you need a cute assistant like me to make things easier on you." The pinkette snickered, lacing her hands behind her back as he managed a small glare in her direction. "That girl, Matsuri, she seems nice-"

"That would be scandalous, seeing as she was my first student." Gaara raised both naked brows questionably in her direction, his arms crossed in his usual power stance. "Perhaps that's more up your alley? I've heard that Kakashi Hatake is quite handsome under his mask-"

"I wouldn't know, I've never seen it." Sakura stuck out her tongue in a rude display, but it only made him smile knowingly.

"Well, he doesn't have to take it off for any activity other than eating. So, I suppose you wouldn't know-"

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" The pinkette was instantly on the defensive, and it tickled him to think he had gotten some sort of rise out of her.

"Well, it means you haven't seen his face is all... however, there is more than than one way to strip a man- ah, forgive me, I meant 'skin a cat'." Gaara's dark cheshire grin grew as her anger began to boil over, and she stomped towards him with clenched fists.

"I would never sleep with my sensei-!"

"Disturbing, isn't it? For the record I would never sleep with my student either. This road goes both ways, Sakura." The redhead began to chuckle, and watched with mirth as she began huffing and puffing at him like an angry dragon.

"Hello new friend!" A tan girl with greenish-blue hair popped over to them with a large grin on her face. If he recalled right, her name was Fuu. "Since we are all new friends I think we should take a bath together-!"

All Gaara and Sakura could do was blink in utter disbelief over the statement. While he actually wouldn't mind taking a 'bath' with Sakura, this other girl was something else all together. She was cute, but she was extremely odd.

"Fuu! Let's go!" Her friends had quickly gathered her up, much to her displeasure. They apologized for her odd behavior before taking their leave.

The two just stood there for a moment, blinking and balking at what had just transpired.

"Wow. A bath? What, with both of us?" The kunoichi gaped over the idea for a moment before flushing a nice shade of red, making the man next to her begin to snicker.

"Does that idea scare you-?"

"Yes it does, thank you very much! After the last 'bath' incident I don't think I could even step into a bathhouse with you." Sakura groaned, but her sweet blush was still very much present on her cheeks.

"I hope you don't mind, but I feel differently about that. I think it would be nice to bathe with you." Without so much of a glance he turned to walk back into the main building, although the grin growing on his face was a sight to behold. Regardless, she stomped after him shouting meaningless insults that barely scratched the surface.

Everyone had started to tuck in for the night, and he had a bit of guard duty to do. Not just for the ninja taking part in the exams, but for himself as well. He walked down a hall that was away from the living quarters, but she followed him with a huff.

"Where the heck are you going?" The kunoichi stomped after him with a fire under her feet, making him wonder how long she was going to stay angry with him

"I'm watching out for yours, and your comrades safety. I assume Tsunade filled you in-"

"She did, which is why I think it is utterly stupid that you are going off alone!" Sakura snagged his wrist to tug him back to her roughly. He was a bit shocked by her sudden boldness, and unfortunately he knew it showed. "Stop trying to hide away like some sort of delinquent!"

"It's for your safety." Gaara said it sternly, and she gaped at him in disbelief. "Please, do not concern yourself with me. I am... disposable-"

"Are you being serious?!" The kunoichi was suddenly out of control, her arm cranked back to slap him with an open hand.

Surprisingly it was fast enough to connect before his sand could protect him. The sting on his cheek was pulsing, but it made him feel strangely alive. He could hear her chest heaving with her fiery breaths.

"Stop acting like a stupid martyr!"

'She's gotten so much stronger...'

"It's my job." The redhead locked eyes with the girl in front of him, yet he held absolutely no animosity towards her. He was just tired.

He was always tired. Never rested, yet always wishing he could sleep.

Exhausted.

She seemed to see it, his fatigue catching up with him in the slightest moments of weakness, and he regretted letting that part of him slip by his careful efforts.

"It's your job to lead, not to die." Her delicate hand came up to fix a piece of his hair, and it felt incredibly affectionate. He almost leaned his head into her hand, wanting so badly for her palm to touch his cheek gently rather than in a striking fashion.

"Yes, I'll lead my people, but I will gladly die for them too." His breath shook for a moment, not because the statement placed fear in him, but rather her fingers had traced his tender cheek with the intent to soothe the pain. Her eyes looked conflicted, as if she hated the situation somehow.

Then she said something that pulled at him in a way he could not ignore.

"Stay in my room then. That way I'll be close by."

He stopped, his eyes wide at her offer, but then he felt the logical kage in him take over despite desperately wanting to go with her.

"That would be putting you in danger, and I can't do that." Gaara put his foot down on that idea, as much as he would love to be in her company there was no way he was going to let the one girl that held his affections be damaged in any way.

Suddenly she began to look frantic, something about this worried her greatly.

"Gaara, stay in my room. Please, I'll even let you lay next to me. Just... please..." Just then her hands were gripping at his coat, pulling at the fabric in desperation.

His heart started to sway, and it was almost too much to handle. Having her beg him in such a way, it was shocking how her intent alone could have such a strong effect on him.

'I can't... say no. Not to her...'

He made a decision, but whether it was a stupid one or not was to remain a mystery.

"Until dawn, then I have to leave-"

"Thank you!" Sakura wrapped her arms around his frame with a content sigh, and he tensed every single muscle in his body over the contact. It was unexpected, and her hair was brushing his face, thrusting her scent into his nostrils. He inhaled greedily, yet his frame remained tight with control.

She broke away from him with a relieved expression before taking him by the hand to follow her to her room. He allowed her to lead him in silence, watching her back carefully. With his sand he sent off a message to Temari and Kankuro, alerting them of where he would be should something go wrong.

Despite all of his precautions, his heart was racing, and his eyes kept darting to where their hands connected.

The hallways were dim, as the oil lit lamps had been turned down low for the night just barely lighting their way. He could see quite well due to his jinchuriki abilities, but he could tell Sakura was struggling to find her room number.

"What's the number of your room?" Even though he had asked gently, he still felt her hand twitch at the sound. 'Old habits die hard.'

"Twenty three." Her voice was even softer than his, and held the slightest hint of nervousness to it.

'Is she afraid to take me to her room? Perhaps she believes I will be expecting something more from her than just a safe space.' The redhead thought hard on that for a moment, and wondered if he would accept any offers from her had she felt pressured to do so. It was a tough call, and one that he didn't know if he could answer.

"Two more down, and to the right." Gaara finally answered, and chose to lead her instead. Tugging her along with him gently, the kunoichi stumbled slightly on her feet, but quickly regained her footing. Her anxiety was cute in a way, and he decided he would stay silent to enjoy the moment rather than tease her for it.

They finally reached the door, and he made a gesture for her to open it. With a nod she pulled out her key to unlock her door, but the small piece of metal fell from her shaking hands making a clanking clatter as it hit the stone floor.

'This is a bit extreme, just what is going on in her head?'

"Are you alright? You seem nervous about something-"

"It's nothing, I just didn't get much to eat after that fight that broke out in the dining room." Sakura's lie was flawless, but his excellent vision told him that her blush said otherwise. She picked up the key with a forced confidence, and finally opened the door. "I have some military rations in my pack, I'll take a small bite before I go to sleep."

"Yes, that would be a smart idea." The redhead decided to play it off for now, and entered the small room with her.

He shut the door behind them, and she seemed to be tense as she walked to her pack. The redhead placed his gourd in the corner, watching her carefully as she moved. She put the key on her bed in passing, and he moved in quick to retrieve it before going back to the door.

"What are you doing?" Her voice called out curiously behind him, and he turned the key in the hole until the lock clicked. He felt the energy in the room change. "Gaara, I asked you what you are doing. Please answer me."

'She sounds cornered, like a small rabbit in it's burrow hiding from a hungry fox...'

"It should be obvious what I am doing." Gaara turned to give her a withered expression before striding over to the small desk in the room. He placed the key on the surface dramatically, and watched her relax in an instant.

"Oh, sorry I thought- nevermind what I thought. Make yourself at home." She tried to wave it off, making it awfully tempting to tease her about it, but he remained stoic.

Instead he chose to shed out of his maroon coat, revealing his black shirt he almost always sported underneath. However, sometimes he liked his netted top too-

Something else clattered to the ground, as he turned to see all of her shuriken fall out of her pack. This was just getting ridiculous.

The redhead bent down to help her pick up everything that had fallen out, and she shakily grabbed every single piece from his helping hands. He was beginning to hate how much he intimidated her now, where as in the past she was completely fearless.

"What has happened to you? You never used to be so afraid of me, and back then you really should have." He asked gently, but then watched as she pulled her pack protectively to her chest.

"It's not... I'm not scared... not of you. Just the fact that we're... different." Sakura could hardly get her words out, and it ticked him off even further.

"You asked me to come here-"

"I know I did!" Her face turned to him quickly, and although she was flushing over whatever it was she was thinking he could clearly see it was hurting her too.

"What are you expecting, Sakura? That I'll turn into a monster before your eyes just because I happen to be a man?" Gaara decided to get straight to the point, and it was plain to see that getting to the true problem bothered her greatly.

"No! I can handle men just fine-!"

"Obviously you can't. I propositioned you once, and only once. I have never since brought it up again, but it seems to have damaged you in some way. I never wanted that." He said sternly before standing up, and before he knew it he was going back to his coat. "I thought you understood what I meant, that I wasn't going to pressure you into anything that you didn't want to do. However, I suppose my feelings for you are threatening enough-"

"Stop it! That's not fair, and you know it!" She followed him to the wooden chair that held his coat, and ripped it away before he could get a good grasp on it. He turned to truely glare at her, which was something he hadn't done in a long time. "Your feelings for me are not good ones! They are sick, twisted, and sexual! You don't love me-!"

"And how would you know? Hmm? You don't write to me anymore. We don't talk when you're here. As far as I'm concerned you don't understand a fucking thing about how I actually feel!" He hadn't meant for it to come out so strong, or for his fist to hit the desk so violently, but it unfortunately played out that way.

The second that she jolted at the sound of him punching the wooden surface he immediately pulled back. He didn't want her to feel that way about him, to be filled with fear over any move he made. Yet he was making everything worse by the second.

He said screw it to the coat, and instead went to go for his gourd, but delicate hands were quickly around his wrist preventing him from pulling it up.

"Let go, please." Gaara said it as softly as he could, but her grip on him only tightened.

"I'm sorry. Please don't leave, I'm so incredibly sorry." Sakura's voice shook first, and then her head rested solemnly on his shoulder.

A few soft sobs came out of her, making him feel like he was thirteen again. A young boy just trying to soothe the broken heart of the girl that he liked. He was never a match for her tears, ever. It had to be his biggest weakness, and he hated it.

With an irritated groan he straightened, turned towards her, then held her in a strong embrace. Her face hid in his chest, whimpering as she cried.

'I should be the one crying.' He huffed to himself, but he wouldn't lie and say that he didn't enjoy holding her in his arms once again.

"I'm sorry-" The kunoichi whimpered in a way that had his focus back on her, and he pet her hair as lovingly as he could.

"You're fine. It's alright." A small smile started to form on his face, and the longer he held her the more the feeling grew.

"It's not f-fine... I h-hurt you... a-and I'm a l-loser!" Sakura rubbed her eyes against his black shirt before clawing her fingers against the fabric on his back. "I shouldn't shame you for it... I shouldn't sh-shame y-you..."

"It doesn't matter anymore, Sakura. Shame me all you want, just stop pushing away from me. I'm not going to try anything-"

"That's not what I'm actually s-scared of..." She shook her head violently, hiding her face further into his chest. Her words left him confused, and he stopped petting her because of that fact. "It's me... I'm scared of myself..."

'What?' He blinked at that, now completely thrown for a loop.

"I don't understand-"

"I'm scared of how I feel! I'm scared of the things that I might actually want! Things I find in you that are easily available!"

Her hand slapped over her mouth before she could say any more on the matter, but the damage had unfortunately been done. His eyes widened at the new information laid out before him, and the fact that she found him tempting was utterly shocking.

For her to say that she had basically thought on it; the time she spent with him she pondered over the things that were 'available' to her was hard thing to believe. The question now was how to ease her guilty heart. How could he make this more comfortable for her?

"Sakura-"

"Please, I don't want it. I don't know if I can, or if I should, and I hate those thoughts-!" Her hands abandoned him in favor of gripping at her hair, but he quickly grabbed them to keep them from pulling at the beautiful pink locks.

"It's okay if you think that way. If you need time away from me that is fine, I can leave-"

"DON'T GO-!" Sakura shouted out fearfully making him embrace her again so that she would calm down. He tried hushing her, telling her it was alright, that he wasn't going anywhere, and eventually she calmed back down.

She was unstable, and losing her grip quite fast. He didn't exactly know what to do about it, until a strange idea popped into his head. He thought about a pool of hot water, and wading someone slowly into it; at some point the indecisive person would eventually make a choice, it was just a matter of what it took to break that wall.

He would have to try it.

"I'm not asking this for me... I'm asking this for you-" Gaara waited until her tear stained gaze was upturned, and locked fully on his. He took a deep calming breath, and she seemed to mimic him. "A kiss."

"A kiss?" The kunoichi tensed in his arms, so he took a step back, away from her to prove that his intentions weren't selfishly tainted.

"A kiss, nothing more than that. See how you feel after that." The redhead spoke carefully, his body language showed that he was relaxed, and calm.

She pushed away and began to pace; walking back and forth restlessly trying to figure out if it was acceptable to do such things. Most likely weighing out all the pros, and cons of the situation.

He would agree if she said no, he realized how stupid it was to get involved with a ninja from another village. He knew that it might change things for the worse if they did end up going through with it. It could make the 'relationship' unsalvageable, or it could save it... make it better. Was it worth the risk? Just to have her figure out how she actually felt? This could backfire horribly-

Soft petals graced his lips in a quick peck, and since he had been trapped in his thoughts it had caught him off guard. His arms shot up to grab hold of the culprit, but his mind already knew what had happened. So when his haunting eyes locked onto her cautious sparkling jades he felt fear go through him.

"I'm sorry, I wasn't prepared... are you okay?" Gaara felt stupid for asking her such a question over a little peck of a kiss, but it was actually so important. A small laugh, like she had dodged some sort of bullet, had finally escaped her.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Nothing happened! We're both in one piece, still sane... that was fine." Sakura nodded as if she was trying to reassure herself, and it made him wonder if she really was 'fine'.

"I see, well, I think that pretty much spells it out." He couldn't seem to help but give a half hearted smile before looking away, and as much as he felt relieved he also felt very sad. It was so fast too, hardly enough time to memorize how she felt.

'This heartache... it feels terrible...'

"Gaara." The kunoichi called to him softly, so he turned back his gaze to address her, but was greeted with a second wave.

Soft, plush, warm lips pressed to his own, and they weren't pulling away.

**AN: Ah, the cliffhanger, so evil :) **

**Hope you guys like it, remember to review as it inspires me to write more. I don't know why but I am super invested in this story. I'm following alongside the main plot, which is strange but I dig it too, it kind of keeps everyone on the same page with what's going on in the world, although I don't know how long it will stay like this. **

**Also been trying to make this as slow burn as possible while keeping it sexy. I mean, I love to write lengthy and full sex scenes, but it gets to a point where the fire just dies and all sex scenes afterwords get repetitive. **

**HOWEVER, I have managed to write some gold pieces in my spare time. Although I'm nervous about these two finally getting somewhere, I'm fighting with myself over letting it happen or letting it not happen. (Y'all don't want to know how many sex scenes I've actually fully written out for this particular fic and had to scrap because I was getting impatient. Oh my lord.) **

**I don't know if I'll ever post those scenes, maybe once the fic is all finished. I dunno, let me know if you guys would like me to post the scrapped sexy scenes :3**


	10. Chapter 10

**AN: I've been getting some nice reviews lately, so I decided to upload this next chapter early! Enjoy!**

So soft, smooth petals of the most beautiful flower pressing against his lips.

Sakura wasn't pulling away, it was so surreal.

In a haze his hands rested on her upper arms, his thumb stroking her shoulder lazily as he breathed through his nose. There was no fear, there was no anxiety, no loss of hope. It was just them, alone in a room quietly sharing a kiss.

It was true bliss. His heart was beating so fast-

Gaara felt her start to move away, and in an effort to stay in her good graces he dropped the gentle grip he had on her. Her lids flickered, the lashes fluttering slightly as she brought her fingers to her mouth.

Something had changed drastically, and the redhead didn't know whether to be afraid or excited. He barely wet his lips, and her eyes focused on the action curiously.

"That one... was different." The kunoichi spoke just above a whisper, but it was clear enough that her heart was beating faster than a rabbit's. It made him think of all the fragrant blood pumping through her veins.

"They will all feel different, or so I assume-"

"You mean you've never done this before?" Sakura furrowed her brow in disbelief, and he answered by shaking his head. She looked around the room, anywhere but at him.

Was this suddenly a problem? Did she want someone more experienced?

"You still haven't had sex either?" The kunoichi shifted nervously on her feet, however it didn't seem fearful like it had before.

'Odd...'

"No, unfortunately no one else has captured my interest." Gaara crossed his arms, almost as if it were some sort of defense. "Does that bother you-?"

"No! God no! It's just... you seemed like you knew what you were doing the last time we talked." She attempted to laugh it off, like their strangely magnetic conversations weren't a big deal. He could see through her though, he could see that the things he said affected her in ways that she did not wish to admit.

"I wasn't aware I was doing anything to you, last I checked I was the one in a towel with you staring." His smirk was uncontrollable, the teasing unfortunate. He couldn't keep a lid on it any longer, she was just too sweet to not mess with. Her pouting face was all the reward that he needed.

"You act like you don't stare at me too, dumbass." She puffed.

It caught him off guard, her petty bitterness had a laugh bubbling out of him that he couldn't hold onto. A genuine smile broke across his features, and although it was strange it also felt rather nice.

"S-stop laughing!" Sakura stammered before swatting at him like a pesky fly. His hands came up to block as the little swings stung his arms.

"Ow!" Gaara continued to snicker the more she smacked at him, surprised by the fact that his sand did not come to his rescue.

'Odd. Very odd.'

"I'll knock you into next week, Sandman!" The kunoichi started to actually throw punches, and as he backed away from her she continued to follow.

"Keep hitting me, and my sand will actually get you! Please stop!" Even though the giggles would not desist, regardless of the fact that he was trying, he was beginning to genuinely worry about her safety.

While his sand hadn't come to his aid yet, it didn't mean that it wouldn't eventually. Unfortunately sometimes the grains had other ideas on how to deflect blows that involved people getting hurt.

"Yeah right! Stop this one!" A bit of chakra filled her hand for a slap that would most likely bruise him, and out of the corner of his eye he found his ultimate defense bursting out from his gourd.

Instead of deflecting, in the span of mere seconds he not only let her blow strike him in the shoulder, but he lunged towards her to pull her tightly to his chest. He managed to turn them just in time for the sand to avoid him by a hair's width. The grains struck an electric lamp in the corner, the bulb exploding thus sending them into darkness. That half turn cost him his balance, and they both went toppling to the floor.

His ears were ringing, his shoulder hurt rather badly, and the floor did not feel good upon impact. With her tightly in his arms he had taken the majority of the damage. The flash of light from the burst lightbulb had hurt his eyes a great deal, leaving him blinded for the moment. There was only dark, some pain, and a girl clutching at his chest breathing in a panicked fashion.

'Damnit, great time for my ultimate defense to kick in-'

"Gaara, are you okay?" Sakura spoke just above a whisper, she sounded like a child who had just broke a family heirloom.

"Blind, sore, but I'm still alive." Gaara gave a release of breath that he had been holding in when he caught her. His arms subconsciously wrapped tighter around her frame as he thought about what could have happened had he not acted quickly.

"Are you hurt?" His voice was tight, but it was mostly out of adrenaline than anything else.

"Even if I was I can heal, what the hell were you thinking?!" She smacked at his chest one last time, but it was the straw that broke the camel's back.

Angered, he pinned her to the floor.

"I'm sorry, is my concern over your safety not good enough for you?!" He couldn't see her face, and he didn't know if she could see his either.

"Gaara, let go of me." Sakura warned in a low voice, but he was done being ignored and pushed aside.

"No. You are going to listen to me! I care about you, do you understand-?!"

"I understand that perfectly well, but it's best if you let go of me before someone comes in here..." Her words grew quieter by the second, making him realize that he had been stupidly distracted by what was happening in front of him. Footsteps were clearly running down the halls outside.

His dominating position over her body, plus the evidence of a struggle was enough to get even him, the Kazekage, in deep shit. It would be hard to explain since it looked purely criminal, and it would certainly make it's way through the gossip circles.

'Kazekage assaults an influential leaf kunoichi' He could practically see the headlines.

Shoving himself off the floor to a fast standing position, he could just barely tell that she had also gotten to her feet by the time the pounding on the door arrived.

"Hold on a sec!" Sakura stepped past him to get to her key before going to the door. He could hear it open, and a bit of light flooded in allowing him to see just the slightest in his current state.

"Sakura! Are you okay? What was that noise?" Temari's voice was crystal clear, and thankfully he gave a sigh of relief. "Is Gaara with you?"

"Yeah, he's back by the bed. A lamp sort of... exploded. It was his fault." The smirk in Sakura's voice was evident, and it made him huff bitterly.

Footsteps entered the room, and he could tell Temari was not alone.

"Gaara! Are you alright-?"

"I'm fine, just temporarily blinded." He tried looking over at the shadows that were clearly Temari with some other ninja, but he couldn't focus very well.

'Damn night vision, bright lights hurt so much more...'

"Is it really bad?" Suddenly his sister was right in front of him, making him jolt at her surprising presence.

"Right now it's not great, but it will be better soon." Gaara tried offering a smile, and got a small pat on his good shoulder. Thankfully he could see the shadow of her arm moving before it connected.

"I'll have someone bring you guys an oil lamp. Sakura said you broke this one-?"

"I was being reckless, not really paying attention to my surroundings..." He lied, but he couldn't say that they were having a rough-housing session. That would be scandalous too.

"Gaara, you know better than that. Stop showing off." Temari scolded him, making him glare off to the side. He could hear slight giggling, and even some chuckles from the other ninja in the room.

"You are all dismissed." The redhead glared at the shadows, and it pleased him a bit to watch them scramble with their 'yes sir's and other honorifics. A smug smirk grew on his face as they rushed out of the room.

"I know she's pretty, but you can't be playing around like this just to impress her-" His sister whispered for only his ears to hear, but it only made him feel more bitter.

"Don't assume things, Temari. The situation was far different than you think." Gaara growled slightly, and he could hear her backing away.

"Yes, Lord Kazekage." Temari said respectfully before he watched her shadow leave the room.

A smaller shadow came up to him cautiously, and he knew by the smell that it was Sakura.

"You got awfully bossy-"

"Yes, I have to be sometimes. Otherwise I'd get taken advantage of." The redhead tried blinking away the blurriness, but to no avail. The fact that his vision was impaired only left him more agitated.

"Hey, hold still for a second." The kunoichi's warm soft hand covered his eyes.

At first it startled him, but then he eventually relaxed as her hand started to glow. He could see a bluish light from behind his eyelids, and the moment that she pulled the hand away he found his vision to be crystal clear. In fact, it felt like it was better than it was before.

"Thank you." He focused on her now, grateful that he could see she was uninjured. With a slight flush she nodded, validating his gratitude.

"Yeah, well... you can't go around saying you got blinded in my room. Ino would tease me for months!" With a firm nudge she tried cracking a joke, and although it made him laugh slightly he felt like he had an even better response.

"I would just tell everyone that I was blinded by your beauty-"

"Oh my god, stop acting like a ham!" Sakura smacked his bad shoulder, and he winced slightly. She was about address it when a shinobi came back with an oil lamp.

"Thank you." Gaara gave a slight smile at the man, and he bowed deeply in return before taking off. The warm light from the lamp was relaxing, and immediately eased the energy in the room. As he went to place the lamp on the desk, he turned to see Sakura attempting clean up the glass from the light bulb. "Don't, please, I'll take care of it."

"Alright, but let me look at your shoulder when you're done." The pinkette went back to close the door, and while she was busy he quickly used his sand to grind up every piece of glass, thus turning it all back into fine sand.

It was a quirk for sure, being able to clean up glass in such a 'recycling' fashion. By the time she came back he was already pulling the sand back-

"Hey, wait a sec." With a grin she moved her hand through the sand cloud floating in the air. "That feels so cool-"

"I thought you hated it, I mean you've been caught in it many times." The redhead crossed his arms, but this time it was purely casual.

"Any time I've touched this stuff it was because you were having a mean streak. I want to know what it feels like when it's not trying to kill me." At first her grin was confident, but as her words sank in her smile began to turn shy. "I'm not... you know... it's not like a 'kink' thing or anything like that..."

He blinked at that, and had realized that aside from holding her down he had never even thought to using his sand for anything 'extracurricular'. He always thought sand to be too dry and gritty to be considered 'sexy'.

"I understood what you meant, but now I know just a little bit more-" He started to tease, and her anger flourished once more.

"Oh, shut up and do your stupid sand thing!" She waved her hands dramatically, and it almost made him snort. With a sly smirk, and a just a twitch of his fingers the sand started to slither around her arm like a coiling snake. "Ack! It tickles!"

"Yes, it does that sometimes. It can be the most deadly of tickles too as there is almost nowhere my sand can't reach." Gaara's smirk was growing more evil by the second, where as the kunoichi started to wear a worried expression.

"Don't-"

"Don't what? I'm not doing anything." Feigning a yawn, and then with a stretch he twitched his hand causing the sand to slither under her shirt. She screeched and fell to her knees trying desperately to get the sand out.

"GAARA STOP! IT TICKLES!" She flailed about on the floor trying to roll the grains away, but they were relentless in having her laugh, wince, and squeak. He leaned against the desk, casually watching her with a sly grin.

"Don't stop you say? Well if you insist-"

"Gaara! STOP!" Her face had gone completely red from the tickling stress, in her flailing she tried ripping off her shirt as if that would make the sand dissapear.

It didn't, but now things had started to get a little interesting.

"STOP! THIS WASN'T WHAT I MEANT!" Sakura squealed one last time before he finally made the sand come to a screeching halt.

He watched her chest rise and fall with her heavy intake of oxygen, trying desperately to catch her breath. He had to admit that she had filled out quite nicely. The lacy aqua bra wasn't half bad to look at either.

"You're so mean!"

"I know, but I can be nice too." With a small gentle wave of his hand the sand came alive once more, and even though she tried huddling to get away from it the grains still slipped through any nook it could find. He kept the motions smooth, and slow; just barely dragging across the skin in a soothing fashion.

He watched curiously as she started to welcome it, stretching out like a cat on the floor as it slithered around her frame. She hummed at the sensation, and he wondered if she would like to feel it a bit more on the suggestive side, but he decided it was best to stay away from such areas. Although, he did let the grains come dangerously close here and there.

"You're so twisted..." The pinkette murmured in a relaxed fashion before eyeing him from the floor, it was a look that made him want to crawl over her that very second. It was a challenging gaze, sultry and dark making his mouth water. He doubted that she even realized just how insane she made him, having her barely tease was enough. "God, you're getting off on this aren't you? Freaking weirdo-"

"Pot calling the kettle black, at least I'm not rolling around on the floor in a bunch of sand like I'm on drugs." At that image he had to stifle a laugh, as it was more hysterical to say than what he was actually witnessing.

"Tell me the truth, do you do stuff like this on your down time?" She placed her hands on her thigh as a snake of sand slithered over it, and it slid sensually through her fingers as it passed.

"To be honest, I have not. I'm not really one to do stuff like that-"

"You don't jerk off? I find that hard to believe." Sakura practically snorted, but then relaxed into another wave as it caressed her neck. The topic surprisingly had him a bit taken aback, it wasn't something he had talked about with anyone before.

"On occasion, but not often. I'm much too busy." Gaara tried to act mature about it, but his cheeks felt warm regardless. It took a moment to look back at her only to realize she was staring at him rather hard.

"When was the last time-?"

"I'm sorry, what?" The redhead blinked at her in shock, and she started to giggle uncontrollably.

"You know... when was the last time you did 'it'?" The pinkette let her fingers drag across some more passing sand while waiting for his answer. He almost didn't want to say.

"Few weeks ago... maybe over a month... I'm not certain-"

"Wow, here I keep thinking you're less innocent than me. What are the odds that you're all talk, and no walk." At that moment she got to her knees, and tried going to stand. Gaara bitterly dragged the sand across her groin making her squeal in surprise. "Pervert!"

"If you would actually let me I could show you just what kind of walking I could do." Gaara continued his torture on her while also picking her shirt up off the ground. She glared at him, but it was teetering on playful.

"Fine! Do your worst! I bet that the second you even get close to me you'll get too nervous, and back out." Sakura scoffed with sarcasm, but he was still focused on the 'do your worst' bit.

"Are you sure you want that? Think carefully now." To ensure that he was being serious he began to approach her, walking over slowly before kneeling down to her level. She recoiled slightly, but kept her pride; the sand still sliding around her body in a teasing way.

"I'm pretty sure I remember calling you a coward for not using your hands-" She started with a laugh, but it struck a chord in him.

"Is that an invitation?" His tone grew serious, and her demeanor instantly changed. Suddenly she was more cautious, and shied away from his roaming eyes.

"I just... want to try it one more time." Sakura's eyes looked everywhere, except at his shocked expression.

He knew exactly what she was talking about, but he knew that his collected self control was already damaged tonight. Whether he could keep his hands to himself or not was definitely a huge issue at the moment.

Gaara sighed in defeat.

"Alright, you initiate-"

"Um... could you do it this time?" The kunoichi shifted nervously, crossing her arms to cover her partially clothed chest. His haunting gaze roamed her frame greedily, and he moistened his lips in anticipation.

He couldn't say no. His whole being would not let him even fathom it.

Gaara moved closer to her, tilting her chin up to meet him as his lips descended on her own. She gave a light tremble from it, and his hands smoothed soothingly along her skin.

The sand around her grew more hypnotically teasing, and she hummed against his mouth at the pleasant stroking. He had the sand brush between her legs for just a moment forcing her to gasp. Taking that advantage he slipped his tongue past her lips, trying hard to coax her to do the same. When she finally did he allowed his hands to start on her frame, stroking her bare skin with the lightest of feather touches.

It was slow, hypnotic, and breathtaking. She had broken away for a moment to shake her pink strands away from her face, but then went right back in for another eager kiss. The more he kissed her, the more excitement she seemed to feel. Soon she was crawling onto his lap just to get closer, and his hands found a firm grip on her plush hips.

Gaara felt his world spinning, getting lost under the bright fire the girl brought with her. Her kisses were frantic, and needy, like she had never shared them with anyone before him.

He was unfortunately the first to break away to breathe, but that apparently couldn't stop her as she kissed down his jawline.

"Sakura... " The redhead purred as her mouth met with his jugular, sucking up and down his neck with enthusiasm. He groaned softly.

That is until her hand had squeezed on his hurt shoulder for balance, and it pained him enough to yelp. Definitely some sort of sprain, torn ligaments, or cracked bone.

"Oh no! Are you okay?" The pinkette pulled back to look him over carefully. Without asking him she went to the hem of his shirt to remove it over his head. He winced when it forced up his shoulder, but she got it off fast enough that it was like ripping off a bandaid leaving him bare.

'She's good at stripping people...'

"I'll be fine, I think it just got bruised-"

"No, its swelling for sure. It could be a sprain, or a fracture." Going into medical mode, Sakura placed her hands over the injury and let them glow. She closed her eyes to focus on what was wrong. "Damnit, it's cracked. This is going to take a bit longer, I'm so sorry-"

"No, it's fine. It's actually refreshing to feel pain every once in a while." Gaara chuckled, and her eyes flicked up to his deviously.

"Oh ho, I see. I figured you to be into something like that-"

"Get your head out of the gutter, I'm not out to get flogged." The redhead scoffed, but then felt regret as she blinked owlishly at him.

"The fact that you know what that is frightens me a little bit." The kunoichi 'claimed' it scared her, but her little snort proved otherwise.

"Well you're just as guilty. At least I admit to my perversion, whereas you outright deny it-"

"If I were to tell you what actually goes on in my head I'd no longer be safe around you. Don't lie, if I were to say that I was really into s&m you would have a 'red room of pain' waiting for me the next time I visited-"

Gaara laughed hard at that, it was unexpected and disturbing, but that's what made it hysterical. It sounded so weird coming out of her mouth, but he kind of liked it.

"Would it be so bad if I tried to cater to your tastes?" His eyes narrowed knowingly, and he tilted his head just the slightest to view her at a different angle. Her blush was starting to form once more on the apples of her cheeks.

"No, but I don't want to have sex with anyone. So it would become a problem-"

"Why don't you want to?" He pressed further, and her hands twitched over his shoulder. She had been technically straddling him for the last ten minutes, and he was sure that she was only just realizing how precarious their situation had become.

"It will hurt, and it'll make me worthless." She murmured softly at first before widening her eyes at her own statement.

She clearly hadn't meant to actually tell him, it just came out like word vomit.

He did not feel this type of shame that she felt, that ones 'worth' changed after a physical relationship with someone else, but he couldn't outright tell her that she was wrong. He actually had heard a lot of women talk this way, but it was still strange to him.

"I don't think you should place your 'worth' in whether or not you are untouched. If anything you should push for the things you want rather than living up to an ideal 'woman'. Live for yourself rather than for some boy, or a future husband, or anything else that holds down your freedom.-"

"You're just saying that to get in my pants." Sakura finished up her healing, and clapped her hands twice. "There! All done-!"

"I'm not saying it to get you to sleep with me, I'm saying it because I don't like seeing you torn by things that aren't healthy." Gaara huffed, but she still managed to roll her eyes at him making him feel thoroughly ignored.

"Okay, whatever you say, pervert. You'd like me more if I was a loose woman." She pushed away from him, and the heat on his lap disappeared. He knew he was turning her off, but at the moment he didn't care. He didn't want to trick her into doing stuff with him, he wanted her to actually desire it.

"I want you to go after the things you want, even if they don't involve myself." The redhead sighed, feeling his fatigue start to return to him, but he pushed it away like he always did when it tried to rear its ugly head.

"Well, lucky you." Sakura mumbled under her breath, but he still heard it clear as day.

"What is that supposed to mean-?"

"It means sometimes I wish you'd go back to being a bad person. That way I wouldn't have to worry about making shitty decisions." The pinkette said it sourly, and he didn't understand why things were going south so fast when he was just trying to make her feel better.

It just kept happening that way, and he was getting beyond frustrated by it.

Stay, go, don't stay, don't go, up down sideways backwards frontflip-backflip-hopscotch-flipflop-

Something snapped in his head. He could feel it crumbling down his spine like when his second skin would shatter. This girl was either going to put him in an early grave, or a jail cell.

"You say the stupidest fucking things." Well, it was out there, she was staring at him like he was batshit crazy.

'Here we go again.'

"Excuse me-?"

"You want to hear all of it? Let's do this, I'm willing to degrade myself right here and now just so that you stop driving me absolutely insane!" He stood up fast, and she recoiled onto the bed.

"One, I don't like the way you hate yourself for finding me attractive. It's insulting. Two, I really don't like you teasing me with your... whatever this is-and don't you dare say you don't because you most certainly do, and you know you are doing it too!" He was pointing at her, and when she would begin to retort he would immediately cut her off. "Three, how dare you wish for me to turn back into a cold blooded murderer just because you know that if that thirteen year old was our age now he would treat this situation differently-!"

"You can't just delete your personality and replace it with a new one, Gaara! You need to come to terms that you did those things, own up to it!" Sakura went to stand, but he shoved her backwards with gritting teeth.

"You want me to come to terms with my pain, perversion, and my bloodlust?! FINE!" He was shouting at her now, and she shrunk at the sound of his booming voice.

This was a nightmare, and he was creating it.

The redhead moved onto the bed quickly, and with frightened gasp she tried scurrying away only for him to grab her by both of her knees. He pulled her until his hips practically touched her own, and she squirmed trying to get out of his grasp.

"HEL-MMM!" She started to scream, and it made his stomach churn so he slammed his hand over her mouth to keep her quiet.

He was going to do this, he was going to show her that she was wrong. That wasn't the person that she wanted-

"Stop... stop struggling..." The redhead sounded tired, and weak. There was nothing attractive about this, no forbidden sort of fantasy, it was just...

Gross.

"Damnit, Sakura stop crying!"

The kunoichi whimpered behind his hand, and he felt sick to his stomach.

'I fucked this up... I fucked this up really bad this time...' He knew that the second he took his hand away it was all over. There was no forgiving this, even if it was just a scare tactic rather than the real thing. He had to make it right.

"I really suck at this. I've been trying for a long time to make things good between us, but I think we are both incredibly selfish." He couldn't look at her, so he peered off to the side instead. "Truth is I can't do this to you, I feel absolutely zero desire right now, and no offense, but raging doesn't get me in the mood-"

He jumped when he felt her hand openly grope him, and he blinked at the clenched fingers over his groin. They felt him for a moment, and he stared at her face in disbelief only to find her glaring at him. He pulled his hand away just to try to understand what the hell she was doing.

"I'm so fucking pissed at you-"

"I'm sorry." Gaara hung his head, but was still noticing the invasive hand over his genitals. "What are you-?"

"Seeing if you're telling the truth, asshole." Sakura growled for a moment before reaching for the zipper to his pants.

"Woah-woah-woah wait a second-!"

"Hold still or I'll RIP IT OFF." The kunoichi snarled at him, and he immediately gulped back a healthy dose of humble pie.

She dug her way through the fabrics until she could get a good grip through his boxer briefs. He took a sharp inhale as she did it, and she experimentally squeezed from base to tip like it was no big deal.

He had to stifle a groan, finding it to be just enough to get him somewhere.

"Well that's just great, now you're getting hard-" She said it sarcastically, and he was completely dumbfounded.

"I'm sorry, that would be because it's a natural body response!" Gaara hissed at her, and with a roll of her eyes she pulled her hand out.

He almost thought of begging her to reach back in, and he felt he might have shown that through a rather pained expression.

"You weren't hard when you attacked me just now-"

"That is correct." The redhead nodded, and she started to scoff.

"How the fuck are you going to rape me if you can't get it up?" The kunoichi made it sincerely insulting, and he felt it that way too.

"I can use other methods." Gaara narrowed his eyes in warning, and she huffed.

"I'd like to see you try after I rip off your hands-!"

He stuck out his tongue almost childishly at her, but it did the trick in getting her to blush a deep shade of red.

"You're such a pervert!" Sakura puffed, staring at the blanket she was currently clenching her fists on.

She looked like a spoiled child, pouting because they couldn't get something they wanted.

Perhaps he had been going about this all wrong when she had said she wanted to see the boy from the past. She only wanted initiative... maybe more emotion. A fire that also told her clearly what he wanted, but was still contained.

Why couldn't he just keep his hands off of her, and call it a day? This was just torture on his damaged soul.

Yet, he still found himself reaching for her cheek, turning her eyes his way. He placed his lips over hers, and felt a stinging smack across his cheek.

No sand came to help him, funnily enough, so it smarted rather badly.

"Knock it off!" Sakura snapped, but her anger was just another beautiful side to her. She blinked dumbly at him when he did it again, and smacked the other side a bit harder than the first.

He was beginning to like it.

One last kiss had Gaara with a bruised cheek for sure, and it pulsed painfully under the reddened skin. He didn't care, he went in for more, and her body shook with rage. She gripped hard into his hair this time, pulling far more than what was meant to be pleasurable forcing him to groan in pain. He endured, massaging his lips against hers until she eventually warmed up to him.

'Finally.'

Once her fingers began to drag against his scalp rather than try to destroy it he let out a lengthy relaxed sigh. His hands circled her frame, holding her protectively in his arms as they laid back to merely kiss.

The redhead wanted so much more, but stayed only at this point where she allowed him to be freely, he was done pushing the envelope tonight.

He didn't know what time she actually went to sleep, because she apparently kissed him as she drifted into her dreams. It wasn't until the arms around his neck slipped off did he realize she had passed out.

He almost bursted out into laughter at it, but thankfully kept it inside to let her slumber.

**AN: Hahaha I'm so mean. No smut yet, but we're getting to a point where it might happen soon! Are we all excited for it? Let me know in the reviews ;)**


	11. Chapter 11

**AN: Finally the moment you've all been waiting for. **

**WARNING: Contains graphic sexual scenarios. Read at your own discretion. **

Why was it that every chunin exam involved something awful happening to him? Either a village was being ripped apart or it was him personally.

Gaara had gone out to the desert, avoiding his guards in able to help out his student, Matsuri. How he could call himself Kazekage, and 'hide' in his study was a ridiculous claim.

No, he helped them, then got caught in a devious trap meant to drag Shukaku out of his body. Fuu had shown up to save the day, and he had the pleasure of realizing that she was a jinchuriki too. Then they both had to be saved by Neji, someone who was not actually a jinchuriki, surprise surprise.

Now the exams were canceled, evaluations would be made depending on how everyone fared so far. No battle royale, which dissapointed more than a few important people.

Whatever, he didn't care about that. As long as everyone was safe and sound nothing else mattered.

What was strange was that Fuu girl asked to take a bath with him again, and although he found it flattering he also knew that she wasn't approaching him out of 'romantic stirrings'. She was just a very open girl with a lot of weird social quirks. At any rate he pointed her to where the bathhouse was, and somehow he got pressured into using the mens side while she and a few other girls used the women's side. The bath itself was outside, and separated by a stone wall, but people could still easily talk to each other as it wasn't too high. Probably ten feet.

"Eh?! Why is there a wall here?!" Fuu whined, and he could already hear her splashing around.

"Because if there wasn't then the boys would be attacking us, and there would be too much blood in the water." The bell like chime of Sakura's voice spoke sarcastically from the other side. With his ears perked he called out to her.

"Sakura?" He said it loud enough that a few girls squealed on the other side.

'Oh no...'

"That's the Kazekage!" One girl splashed around excitedly while whoever else was with her giggled.

"Great job, Gaara! Now all the girls in here are going to be freaking out-"

"I didn't mean to cause a scene, I was just wondering if it was you." Gaara huffed, and a few more squeals erupted on the other side.

"I'm so glad you made it!" A buzzing, or fluttering sound was heard before he felt water dripping onto his head. He looked up at the dark skinned girl with blue green hair, and felt the urge to chuckle a bit. "Hey! You're not wearing a towel-!"

He had to plug his ears over the loud eruption of squeals that sounded over the fact that he was indeed naked.

"Fuu! Get down! You're going to get in trouble!" Sakura hissed, and he could see that Fuu was being tugged at from the other side.

"No! I wanted to bathe with my new friends! I don't care if he's naked-!"

"It's against the rules!" Sakura started to shout, but the jinchuriki batted her hand away before flying up higher.

Ah, well, it seemed she didn't favor towels either...

"I'm going to bathe with Gaara! He's way more friendly!" The winged girl stuck out her tongue rudely before jumping off into the pool where Gaara was sitting. He blinked a few times realizing that he was going to get both a bath and a show.

"HE'S FRIENDLY WITH YOU BECAUSE HE'S A FUCKING MAN!" Sakura was suddenly up on the wall, holding her soaking towel up to conceal herself. The redhead snorted at her furious expression, putting his hands up in surrender when she turned to glare at him. "Don't you dare move from that spot-!"

"Wouldn't dream of it." He gave her a smirk, and with a roll of her eyes she jumped in after the winged jinchuriki.

"No! I'm staying!" Fuu splashed at Sakura with her wings, and the pinkette took on a delirious expression.

"STOP RISING ABOVE THE WATER!" Sakura screeched before launching her first attack.

Gaara did as he was told, drinking a cup of tea while watching two scandalous women wrestle each other practically to death. This was honestly one of the best things he had ever seen in his life-

Scratch that, Sakura lost her towel, it was now currently the best thing he had ever seen in his life.

"Stop it! I want to stay!" Fuu grappled the pink haired kunoichi, throwing her over her shoulder before dunking her head. Sakura came up for air, dragging herself over to some rocks to cough violently. She looked like a drowned cat, but still undeniably sexy.

"You can't stay, and bathe with Gaara-" The pinkette croaked, her arms shaking with over exertion.

"Why not-!?" As Fuu whined Sakura turned around with renewed energy.

"BECAUSE ITS PERVERTED!" The pinkette punched the water, causing two tidal waves to splash up against every surface in the mens bath. The redhead was thoroughly doused in water, and his teacup had magically disappeared.

"So what?" The winged jinchuriki tilted her head as water dripped off her whole frame.

The pinkette looked dumbfounded, and to be honest he didn't know if he could blame her.

"You don't care if he sees you naked, but what if he tries to touch you?! Or something worse than that-?!"

"Then he does it? I don't really see the problem." Fuu answered honestly, and wrung out the water in her hair leaving the pink haired kunoichi to fumble with her words.

"So you would just let him bend you over, and rail you till the cows came home!? That's a fucking option for you-!?" Sakura was really losing it, and he could hear it in the way that she sounded. It was nearly crazed.

"He's handsome, and nice. So why not?" The winged jinchuriki finally placed the straw that broke the camel's back. He could practically hear a twig snapping in the pinkette's head.

'Uh oh-'

"WHY NOT?! I'LL TELL YOU WHY IT'S NOT OKAY-!" She went to charge up another hit to the water, but luckily she was close enough to the redhead that he was able to catch that fist before she threw it. "GET THE FUCK OFF OF ME!"

"Sakura, calm down-"

"DON'T TELL ME WHAT TO DO, YOU PERVERT!" She turned to smack him across the face avoiding his ultimate defense, and it landed harder than he thought it would. It hurt so bad that he actually had to put his hand up to his cheek to try and soothe the pain.

"Ow..." Gaara winced, but kept one strong arm on the wild kunoichi. "That was uncalled for-"

"Oh really?! Fucking bite me, Gaara!"

"Stop fighting!" Fuu cried out sadly, and he knew that by trying to step in he may have compromised the situation, but it was either him getting hit, or his new 'friend' getting hit.

"Fuu, would you be so kind as to hop over to the women's side? I need to talk to Sakura for a moment." The redhead tried giving a reassuring smile, but it still seemed to dampen the girl's spirits.

"I'm sorry..." Fuu looked down at the water somberly.

"It'll be fine, just go have fun with the other girls." He waved her off with a more genuine smile, and that seemed to brighten her a little bit. She flew out of the water, and over the wall ending with a splash on the other side.

With a frustrated sigh he turned to narrow his eyes at the girl in his grasp. She stubbornly looked away from him, and he felt a great desire to force her to look him in the eye.

"You were actually going to hurt her with that last hit." His voice lowered in an authoritative way, getting her to glare at him. "I've seen you get mad at other people's shenanigans, but that was excessive-"

"I don't care." She furrowed her pink brows, looking away once more with a bitter flush to her cheeks. He shook her by the arm to get her attention once more.

"You know better, Sakura. You represent your village when you are away from it, and right now you just about ruined any ties you might have with the village hidden in-"

"I said I don't care!" Sakura went to shove his chest, but he quickly caught her wrist before it could connect.

"Stop. You are out of control, pull yourself together." Gaara held her there, and she struggled like a fish on a line. "Sakura, I'm not letting you go until you have cooled off-"

"Like I said before, bite me!" She tried breaking away with a fierce growl, but he pulled her dangerously close to him as a result.

"If you wanted my attention you certainly got it, however I would much rather praise you than have to punish you. Do you understand?" He meant it in the most non-sexual way possible, but apparently her head was somewhere else sparking a brilliant red blush on her cheeks.

When it was clear to him that she took it the wrong way he felt a little bashful about it too, seeing as they were both in a bath together. Naked, and alone.

"I didn't mean it that way-"

"Oh don't lie to me, yes you did!" The pinkette tried jerking her hands, but he pulled them back. There was the faintest smile for a moment on her face before turning back into anger.

'She's... enjoying this?!' His head reeled, trying desperately to put pieces together.

Then it clicked. It was there right in front of him the whole time, he was just too distracted to actually see the whole picture.

"You're jealous of her..." As his eyes widened at the realization he saw the kunoichi stiffen. "...the idea of me sleeping with other women bothers you-"

"IT DOES NOT!" Sakura screeched, violently flailing around he quickly had to grab hold of her waist to try and keep her from doing anything stupid. "Pervert! PERVERT!"

"I really don't care if you call me that, I'm honestly trying to just hold you down so you don't break anything." He waited apathetically as she wriggled in his arms like a caught fish. "Calm down, and I'll let you go."

"No-!"

"Calm down, and I'll do whatever you want." Gaara made a bold offer, and she instantly stilled.

"What if what I want is for you to go fuck yourself?" The pinkette hissed, and then snickered darkly at her little insult.

Didn't she know that he could do so many things with that sentence?

"That depends on whether you are sticking around to watch." The redhead whispered into her ear, stilling every muscle, even into her lungs.

"You're... disgusting..." Sakura looked hard at the water, but she began to relax which was the whole point.

"I'm joking-"

"No you're not. You'd do it if I asked you to." The pinkette pushed herself out of his arms, and swam over to the wall separating the baths.

"Any requests?" He hollered after her as she climbed up out of the water, stark nude one might add. However, she showed no signs of bashfulness over him seeing it.

"No." Sakura shot back apathetically, and jumped over into the women's bath.

Well, that was interesting. Interesting enough for him to contemplate beating his head against a wall for the next few days.

\- ... - ... - ...

Gaara stared up at the ceiling. Laying in his bed was a very strange feeling, but he knew he was too worked up to accidentally fall asleep.

He wished that he could have done something different, soothed her in another way so that she wouldn't be mad at him.

It pissed him off, and he rolled onto his side to punch one of his many pillows. The thing was about to rip when he heard his door open ever so quietly.

He stilled, pretending to sleep even though it was rather idiotic. Everyone here knew that he didn't, but his enemies didn't know that. So depending on who it was they would either think he was being ridiculous, or they would make a fatal mistake.

The door closed with a soft latching noise, bare feet padded gently over stone to his bed. The person was breathing anxiously, and he wondered just who the hell would try to sneak up on him in the middle of the-

A scent hit him, a soft floral with a fruity finish. It had his skin crawling with the need to roll over, and double check that it was her. He decided to keep painfully still instead.

The bed dipped, making his heart beat so fast he thought it might explode. This was so precarious, this moment had to be treated with the utmost gentleness less she flee away from him like a frightened animal.

Oh god, but if she did run he had a very strong urge to give chase, and snatch her up by the neck-

'Too dark, Gaara. That part of you isn't safe.'

The redhead tensed as her body curled up next to him, draping her arm around his waste to pull herself as close as possible. He didn't even think he could breathe less he actually startle her-

"I'm sorry." Sakura whispered, and nuzzled her face against his back.

Ah, this was not a midnight rendezvous. It was an apology.

Part of him sunk at the thought, but he burried it like all of the rest of the emotions that caused him trouble.

"You know I can't stay mad at you." The redhead chuckled breathily, and began to relax against her.

She stayed silent, her hand stroking his bare abdomen mindlessly. It was a soothing motion that had him fearing that he might fall asleep, but he didn't want her to stop either. He heard her swallow hard, assuming that she must still be beating herself up about it.

"Does it hurt... not being able to sleep?" The pinkette murmured, and despite not facing her he still gave a silent nod. "I can't even imagine how much your body must ache."

"It's just sore... I wouldn't say it's debilitating." Gaara took a deep, calming breath. Moments like these were rare, and they truly did make a difference in giving him any sort of relief.

"Would you like me to rub your shoulders? I've always wanted to try giving a chakra fused massage... and you're actually a perfect candidate-"

"Is that why you came here? So I could be your guinea pig?" The redhead chuckled at the thought, but her snickers in his ear told him that his assumption may be correct.

"Partly... I mostly just wanted to apologize for how I acted." Sakura sighed, everything going quiet soon after. However, it didn't last long. Her hands started squeezing at his deltoid eagerly. "Roll onto your stomach, I'll rub your back and shoulders."

Gaara blinked at first, he had never recieved a massage before so he wasn't sure on whether it was going to be pleasant or painful. He had heard that at times it could be both.

Eventually his curiosity got the better of him, and he slowly rolled onto his stomach with arms resting on either side, and his head turned to lay as flat as possible on the mattress. He was nervous, tensing even further as he felt her weight settle on his backside.

'This already feels so awkward...' The redhead frowned at first, but then he felt soft hands gliding across his skin. He trembled at the ghosting sensation, realizing that she was slowly adding more and more pressure until she eventually began kneading into his shoulders with her thumbs and palms.

Gaara groaned with relief, grunting here and there when she would reach a tender spot, but her chakra was good about dulling the pain.

"How is it so far?" The pinkette spoke just above a whisper, leaning forward to put a bit more weight into her hands. The redhead hummed with approval, getting a giggle for the effort.

"Really good..." Gaara sighed, his head lulling into a relaxed state that wasn't enough to put him to sleep, but still did have a rather rested effect.

Her hands continued down his back, the muscles along his spine finally relaxing for the first time in ages. Everything was beginning to feel loose, and refreshed.

Her hands came back up, working their tingling magic on every inch even up into his neck and scalp. Deep breaths were taken, making him feel as if he were melting into the mattress itself.

"Hey roll over, and I'll get your pectorals too." Sakura ordered, and he spacily obeyed finally coming round to actually look at her for the first time tonight. Once on his back his eyes began to settle on her form, noting the silky jade pajama set she was wearing. A tank top, and loose shorts that seemed to hike up her thighs when she sat down. He could tell the fabric was thin, and settled here and there on her like a second skin while also remaining baggy enough to not be scandalous.

It didn't matter, anything she wore was sinful to him. Anything that clung to her gorgeous body had him envious, as he wanted nothing more than to cling to her naked form too.

She gave him a knowing smile, her bottom sitting itself precariously on his lap before she leaned forward to rub along the front side of his neck and shoulders. The tank top was baggy enough that he could see rather far down her shirt.

No bra... he wondered if she was wearing underwear at all tonight too-

"Hey." The pinkette snapped her fingers in front of his eyes, forcing him to blink quickly. The hand pointed upwards, leading him to look up into her shining jade eyes. "Eyes up here please, I'm providing a service not a show."

"Is massage the only service you offer?" Gaara raised one naked brow at her teasingly, and recieved a light smack on the chest for his mischief.

"If you're expecting me to 'service you' like a hooker then I demand cash up front-"

"Hold on, I'll go grab my wallet-ow!" The redhead snickered while also wincing under her devilish fingers. She had pinched his deltoid rather hard for his antics. He was surprised that his ultimate defense didn't kick in.

"You can't afford me." Sakura scoffed, and a genuine laugh escaped him.

He was quickly entranced by the way she started working on him, her slightly glowing hands working at his chest with a bit more carefulness than what she had done with his back. It was so pleasant that the redhead swore that if he could purr then he would have certainly done so.

"You've... really grown..." The pinkette blurted out quietly as she worked, her hands now beginning to rub gently over his ribs. It didn't tickle, but it did feel a bit strange. "You're so muscular now. I remember treating your injuries two years ago... you didn't have the build you have now-"

"Well, I could say the same for you. In comparison to the first time I saw you naked, this last time really took the cake-"

"Oh shut up!" Sakura huffed, an intense blush invaded her cheeks at the reminder of what he had seen today. "I'm just fortunate that I didn't catch an eyeful of you below the waist-"

"Why? You've touched it, might as well see it." Gaara teased her further, her hands twitching at one point as they slowly moved down his abdomen.

"You're so stupid! I haven't touched the damn thing directly!" The pinkette truly started to get pissed off, putting a little bit more pressure onto his abs than what he was prepared for. He tensed in discomfort, showing off his lean muscle more than before.

A fresh blush hit her cheeks when she saw the lines to his body, but her innocent curiosity seemed to get the better of her as she traced the indentations throughout his torso. His eyes followed her tracing fingers as they tingled against the skin, and as they went lower than his navel he tensed further with anticipation.

Sakura felt over the v-cuts that led to his groin, but went no further than the waistband. Her eyes searched his dark drawstring pants while her nails scratched lightly over the edge.

He said nothing, as he knew that any word that came out of his mouth now would startle her like a small animal of prey.

"How far do these go?" The pinkette went back to running her fingertips over the cut lines of his lower abdomen, the redhead trying his hardest not to shiver from the touch.

"Pretty far down..." Gaara answered very softly so as not to disturb her exploration of him, but his voice had her looking up all the same.

When her jade orbs found his coal rimmed ones he felt as if they might have been asking him something, and he wasn't sure if he made a clear enough answer in the way that he blinked or breathed.

Suddenly his attention was disturbed, forcing his eyes back down to see her dainty fingers beginning to tug at the ties of his waistband.

'Is this... really happening?' He swallowed hard, his lids blinking in disbelief as the tie unraveled. She tensed, gently pulling at the fabric just enough to see were his v-cuts really went. Unfortunately her hand had nudged something that was eager for attention, and she squeaked as a result letting the fabric go quickly.

The redhead almost groaned, wanting more than anything for her hand to wrap around his hardened length. He almost had an urge just to guide her hand himself, but he knew that this whole thing was up to her alone.

"You're hard." Sakura frowned, and that frown made him feel more self conscious than he'd care to admit. He awkwardly cleared his throat before looking off to the side.

"Sorry-"

"No! It's... fine... I should have figured... you know... with the touching..." The pinkette took a few shallow breaths before anxiously shifting halfway off his lap. "Is this too weird for you?"

Gaara raised a naked brow at that, his curiosity forcing him to face her again. Her hands were back, playing with the hem of his pants innocently while she wore a shy expression.

Perhaps this wasn't as fruitless as he initially thought.

"It's only weird if you think it is. Other than that, I don't mind it." He murmured softly, just as careful as he had before. The pulling returned, and this time he barely lifted his hips for her to get a bit further in revealing more of him.

The fabric, however, decided to get caught up on his 'anatomy', forcing the girl to squeak again. He stayed calm, and thankfully she didn't try to conceal anything that she hadn't already exposed. The top half of his pubic bone was showing, and apparently that was enough to make her stumble in her efforts.

"You don't have to do anything with it if you don't want to, and if you want to look I don't mind that either." The redhead decided to throw out the option, and see if she would do anything with it. Surprisingly she didn't react poorly, she gave a nod of agreement to his suggestion, and slowly started sliding more of the fabric away.

A bit of the shaft showed, and an audible gulp was heard. She was practically sweating she was so nervous. She pulled further revealing a great deal more than she was probably prepared for, but it was when she got passed the tip that she nearly jumped in surprise.

The thing about being 'hard' was the fact that when the erection was pressed down it had a tendency to spring back up once released. It seemed to startle the kunoichi a bit, and he almost let out a laugh at her fear of it.

He must have made a sound, as her challenging eyes shot back up to glare at him. His lips made a tight line, trying desperately to hold in his humor less the moment be ruined forever.

"You knew it was going to do that." Sakura hissed, and unfortunately he had to cover his mouth with his hand to keep the giggle contained. "Yeah yeah, laugh it up."

Her bitterness seemed to make her a little less fearful, and her eyes zeroed in on his erection with a glare. She stared at it for far longer than what should have been necessary, but he wasn't going to argue about it. He did say that she could look, and not touch if she so desired.

The pinkette took a shaking breath, her face turning innocent once more before reaching out with hesitant fingers. His heart started pounding, his blood warming him as her delicate hand carefully brushed along his shaft with feathery fingertips.

Goosebumps broke out along his skin as tingles errupted from the slightest touch. He had never been so sensitive before, and it came as shock to find her feathery touch to be giving him such a strong reaction.

"It's... warm..." Sakura murmured, suddenly growing fixated on it. Her hand went to gently trace his entire erection, base to tip. He did shiver that time, and a small puff of heated breath escaped him as the sensation struck hard. "Does it tickle or something?"

Gaara laughed for a moment, and shook his head with a smile choosing to remain silent for once. It seemed to be all that she needed to know, and her hand hesitantly let go for a small moment so that she could stop to think.

He gave her that time, knowing that it was best if she decided on her own whether or not she wanted to go further.

"Gaara...?" The pinkette looked about herself awkwardly before wringing her hands. She seemed so nervous now.

"You don't have to go further if you don't want to. I can take care of it myself later-"

"Ah- no. That's... not what I was going to ask..." Sakura blushed hard then, and he cursed himself for possibly taking away her initial thought. "Can you... show me... um..."

The redhead blinked owlishly at her, understanding her meaning yet disbelieving that she was even asking him such a thing.

"You want to watch me do it?" His tone was not teasing, if anything it was an honest and caring sound. She didn't make eye contact, but she nodded jerkily before giving a quick bite to her bottom lip. Although in shock, his body seemed to force his hand down to his erection to give it a healthy grip. "Alright. If you get too freaked out just let me know-"

"I'm already freaked out!" The pinkette whined like a child, once again forcing him to tense up with the urge to laugh. He held it in, but the humor was written on his face.

"We can stop whenever you want, is what I'm trying to say." Gaara gave her a reassuring smile, and while it seemed to butter her up at first, the comment was quickly turned against him.

"So, what if I want you to stop right before you get there?" Sakura asked innocently enough, but the idea of it had him already tensing with discomfort.

"Then I stop, and pick it up after you leave." He was honest with her, and she seemed to appreciate it.

"Well, what if I don't want to leave?" A small smile started to appear on her face that made him even more on edge.

"Then I guess I'll be hurting tomorrow..." More honesty. The redhead was not a stranger to blue balling, most men have experienced it at least once in their lives if not a few times. However, just because he had done it before did not mean that it didn't hurt like hell.

The sinister smile she gave made his stomach churn. He wondered if she enjoyed torturing him in some way.

"Okay, sounds good. Go ahead." Sakura waved her hand in a 'go' fashion, it was so casual that he wondered if her initial discomfort was all an act.

Well, he wasn't going to even try asking, he might as well give her what she wanted. If she desired a show, then he'd give her a show.

Gaara started slowly at first, almost cautiously. Gliding his hand over the skin in a teasing fashion. It seemed to get her attention, and she studied the way his fingertips swirled over his own skin before he took himself more firmly into his palm.

The redhead exhaled long and slow, trying to relax as he massaged his length up and down. With each pump of his hand he felt that spark go through him, flittering out through his arms and legs after warming his core.

She was hovering now, watching intently as he stroked himself. A blush warmed her cheeks darker and darker as he went about his business, but her eyes stayed completely invested.

A wave finally got him with more intensity than the others, forcing a low sound to escape his throat. Her sparkling jade orbs darted to his face then, and the intensity of which they stared had him blushing rather hard.

When it happened again she quickly looked away wide eyed, her innocence shining through more than he had ever seen.

"You're... actually getting off to this..." The pinkette flushed near scarlet as she stated the fact out loud, and it was so ridiculous that he gave a breathless laugh.

"Yeah, that's the point." Gaara laughed further when she shot him a glare for his teasing. However the laughter faded away into a legitimate moan, bringing back the initial awkwardness from before.

"Are you going to... uh... orgasm?" Sakura made a rather strange face that made him want to laugh again, but he simply smiled while shaking his head.

"Not yet... no... I like to... take my time..." The redhead started to pant, his eyes growing lidded from the consistent strokes along his shaft.

He was watching her as her eyes darted between his face and his work, and while she seemed uncomfortable she also seemed to be just as curious.

"What do you like to think about, you know, when you do this?" The pinkette leaned in a bit for a closer look, her brows furrowing as she noticed his tip begin to grow wet.

"That... is private..." Gaara tensed as another harsh wave hit him worse than the others, a loud moan slipping past his careful control. He held a hand over his own mouth, and breathed heavily through his nose as he tried to keep from crying out in front of her.

He was getting close now, so close he could almost taste it-

"Okay, stop. Please..." Sakura grew flustered as she made her request, and it had his stomach sinking as he managed to get in two more strokes before breaking away with a pained groan through his teeth.

"Hnngh-damn it..." The redhead cursed, clenching the bedding underneath him as he gritted his teeth. It was pulsing, aching to finish, and yet he was denying himself what his body now desperately needed.

As he huffed a few aggravated breaths he just barely saw her expression before she turned away. She seemed to pity him, the regret in her features was strong even as she hid her frown behind her clenched hands.

"I'm sorry..." The pinkette murmured sadly, but he didn't want her to feel bad about getting nervous over the ordeal.

"It's fine... I'll live." Gaara gave a slight breathless laugh before taking a deep inhale. The exhale was slow, and calming, but it only did so much to cool him down.

Something touched the tip of him, making him nearly jolt out of his skin.

"Is this precum?" Sakura rubbed his essence between her fingers experimentally, and he balked at the fact that she found no shyness there in comparison to everything else.

"Uh... yeah. It is-" His words got caught in his throat as her fingers slid around his flushed length. Her eyes studying the erection, and the fluid it produced with great interest.

Her fingers wrapped around his shaft firmly, and then started the motions where he left off. The shock from it had him groaning with delight while his hips arched up to meet her hand, leaving her thoroughly flushed.

"Is it okay?" She tried checking in, but grew bashful when he gave a true moan for her.

"Yes... It feels... good..." The redhead melted to the touch, his heart pounding relentlessly against his sternum as her perfect lithe hand pumped him with a healing touch-

Just then an intense energy flow went through him. Her fingers glowing with chakra gave a violent push of pleasure that drove him straight into an erotic abandon. The intensity was so much that his heels dug into the mattress, the electric sensation forcing his fingers to claw into anything they could find.

He was cursing, sweating, and he knew he was probably frightening her with how strong his reactions were, but he didn't realize just how incredible that flow of chakra was going to feel. He didn't know she was going to pull something like that on him, especially since he had been edging for so long.

"Does it... still feel good-?" She asked anxiously.

"Fuck yes...!" Gaara nearly screamed, his hands came up to run his fingers through his own crimson hair while his pale hips rocked into her working palm.

Her blush overtook her completely, but she never stopped.

Sakura whimpered shyly, but forced her hand to move faster making his body arch with another harsh curse. The heat and pleasure were overwhelming, and the white hot sensation drove him over the final edge.

"Sakura-!" The redhead groaned shamefully as his length began to pulse. With each wave came a gush of fluid that began to pool over his abdomen.

Gaara was breathing, yes, but it was shallow from how much his muscles had constricted. He could feel the blood pounding through his skull while it tilted back in a near painful ecstasy.

It felt far too good. That energy of hers had taken over his entire sex, and coaxed it in just the right way to make him nearly burst into tears. She was hushing him, he could hear her begging him softly to quiet down, but she did not realize that this was probably the best orgasm he had ever recieved in his entire life, and he did not have them often either.

He gave one last silent trembling cry before his tensing form relaxed onto the bed, finally coming down from a truly magnificent and lengthy high. The electricity that had taken over was beginning to buzz out into a low tingle, and then finally the relief kicked in.

The redhead was desperate for air, breathing harshly with his eyes clamped tight. He could feel her fingers still tracing curiously over his sensitive length through the mess he had created, and although it made him twitch and tremble he felt he couldn't ask her to stop.

No, if he could do it all over again right that very second he would have done it in a heart beat.

"Are you okay? Did I hurt you?" The pinkette ran her unoccupied clean hand through his damp locks, waking him up with her soothing touch. His lidded eyes stared at her in hazy wonder, while she stared back at him with worry.

It was so quick, and probably a stupid thing to do, but she was close enough that he barely had to lean forward to do it.

He kissed her with every ounce of appreciation he had. Her gasp of surprise from it left her vulnerable, and he shamelessly took advantage of the opening by deepening the kiss. It was heated, desperate, affectionate, and needy, but it was never denied either. She let him kiss her how he wanted, and she seemed to melt into it herself.

"Sakura..." The redhead breathed against her lips, getting a whimper for his effort. "Let me return the favor... please-"

Sakura squeaked, pulling away from him with a fearful expression. Her eyes darted around his frame for a moment, and she found the distraction she was searching for.

"You're all dirty... I'll be right back." The pinkette whispered anxiously, then slipped away from him so quickly he figured her to be practically running away.

Thankfully she didn't, she simply went into his adjoined bathroom to grab a towel. Not making eye contact she returned to the bed, and started the process of absorbing the viscous fluid on his abdomen.

"Sakura-"

"Please... this was already a lot... I wasn't planning on... I just wanted to..." Sakura was beginning to tremble, her hands shaking as she blotted and wiped up the semen that was really his responsibility. He appreciated her kindness, but it wasn't her job to clean up after him.

"Let me do that-"

"No, I got it." The pinkette argued, and quickly finished her task.

"Hey." Gaara grabbed hold of her wrist before she could pull away, his eyes locking onto hers in all seriousness. "It's okay. We don't have to do anything else if you don't want to. I'm sorry, I just wanted you to feel good too."

The redhead tried smiling for her, but felt it fall as she started to look around the room nervously.

"Hey..." His hands moved her jaw, tilting it up so that he could kiss her gently. She finally hummed, and relaxed into the motion.

Kissing seemed to be her weakness, as she merely tossed the towel over the edge of the bed in favor of crawling further into his arms. Her kiss became frantic for a moment, biting and sucking at his lips and tongue while one arm found their way around his neck.

The other slid down between them...

Alright, so he wasn't returning the favor specifically, but at least he could still be there to watch her in her most vulnerable state.

His kiss stayed hypnotic as he listened carefully for her. She started to breath harshly, and her body moved like a wave in front of him.

"Gaara... please..." Sakura mewled on his lips before grabbing one of his hands to bring it forward to her breast. The mound was soft under his gripping fingers, and with the silkiness of her tank top his thumb had no problem gliding over her perked nipple. She cried against his mouth, her body answering him in every way. "Yes... yes..."

Gaara pulled away for a moment to view her, and sure enough her hand was concealed underneath her pajama shorts. He forced her to remove her hand, much to her fighting him over it, and eventually maneuvered her to the point that her tank was peeled away from her stunning form.

The pinkette whimpered, placing her arms across her chest to conceal herself from him, but he was on the move again.

The redhead pressed her down onto the mattress, his hand guiding her back between her legs while his mouth kissed and licked along her chest.

"Gaara-!" Sakura squealed, her body turning this way and that under the pleasurable action. Soon his hands had a firm grip on her shorts, forcing her to be rid of those too. "G-Gaara, wait-!"

Gaara stopped himself, looking down at the damage he had already caused. It made him wince over how stupid and impatient he had become.

"I'm... so sorry... are you okay?" He took a calming breath to get his head screwed back on, and she seemed to study him for a moment as he gathered himself.

"Yeah, just a little exposed..." The pinkette tried covering herself again with her arms, but there was just too much to try to hide.

"Do you want to keep going?" The redhead asked gently, and luckily it didn't take long to get a favorable answer.

"Yes. Just... no sex, okay?" Sakura huffed, stating her terms clearly for him. He nodded in agreement to them, memorizing her coy image while he thought of what he wanted to do with her.

'Bite the neck. Bite it-' The mere thought of it brought back dangerous memories, and even more dangerous habits. His body was moving out of his control, laying halfway on top of her while the rest of his weight warmed her side. Her neck was visible, available, and moving with nervous gulping.

His lips ghosted the area, and the gasp that filled her lungs sounded almost frightened. Her pulse pounded fast, and he licked along her jugular to greet it.

"Don't be afraid." He whispered, moving up to her ear to speak in a feather soft tone. "I won't hurt you, not unless you ask it of me..."

He licked the shell, gaining a sweet whining sound from her beautiful voice box. His pale hand ran it's fingers along her throat before cupping her jaw gently.

She started to moan without stimulation, making him realize that she had already started on herself. It seemed her patience had run out too, and he wondered if his own pleasure had anything to do with that.

"...Gaara..." The pinkette whimpered quietly, almost fearfully. He answered by sucking at her neck, dragging his teeth here and there like the starving animal he truly was. "Gaara!"

Her cries were echoing through his body, slowly driving him insane. The hand on her chin went south to pet along her frame, squeezing a breast here and there just to have her jolt in his eager grasp.

"I know you do this more often than I do, you have admitted that fact..." Gaara breathed against her flushed moistened skin before kissing his way back up to her ear. "What I truly wonder is if you've ever been inside-"

A whine errupted from her, and her hips rolled up to meet her working fingers with need.

"Have you?" The redhead pressed, and with another cry she shook her head in answer.

His skin was crawling then, he wanted to try it so badly it was nearly making him burn. His roaming hand lowered until it ghosted over her relentlessly moving fingers, and as he lowered slightly passed those fingers he felt a soft wet heat just begging to be entered. It set him on fire.

"Will you let me try?"

A slight sobbing noise was heard, almost like she didn't want to do this at all, but her eager nodding contradicted the sound. His breath nearly caught, but he stayed calm enough to begin parting her glistening folds.

"Thank you... Sakura..." Gaara whispered against the shell of her ear, then slipped in one finger with greater ease than he had originally anticipated.

Sakura jolted with a whimper, her working hand slowing as the fresh sensation took over. He could feel her inner walls pulsing, begging for further attention as he slowly moved the digit. He pulled out, and then inserted a second finger, gaining a slight grunt of discomfort from the foreign feeling. Her fingers stopping almost as soon as the second digit entered.

"Keep going..." The redhead ordered with a low sensual tone, and with a desperate sob she started up again.

He kissed along her throat once more, heaving heated breaths while he languidly lapped at her skin. His head was swimming now in the sound of her cries, the feel of her muscles constricting around his fingers, and the taste of her dewy skin as she broke out into a glowing sheen. She was so beautiful, and he wanted to keep her for himself for all of eternity if possible.

Gaara pumped his fingers slowly inside of her, feeling the walls tighten around him as he moved, but her whining told him that it was not discomfort that made her body react that way.

"More... please..." The pinkette begged, causing the hot blooded redhead to almost see red in the wake of the desire it caused.

He didn't answer, but he did obey her. His fingers worked quickly, and harshly to give her the purchase she needed. Her form arched, and bucked against both of their hands causing her to cry out wantonly into the dark.

She was much louder than he had been... so much louder. He wondered if this would alert someone outside the room-

'This sound is clearly not of a person in pain, nor that of a person in mourning. If anyone hears her they will not be knocking on your door.' Gaara wasn't sure if it was him or Shukaku who had said that, but he listened regardless, and picked up his speed one last time to push her over the edge.

And over the precipice she fell. Her cries were sharp enough that they almost hurt his ears, and her body tensed yet continued to undulate in beautiful feminine waves. Her inner walls contracted in rapid pulsations, milking his fingers with an intense pressure the he didn't realize her sex was capable of. It was almost crushing the digits the muscles were so strong, and he could only imagine what it might feel like against his length. It left him softly groaning at the thought regardless of being denied the privilege of testing it.

Everything was raw, and it was beautiful to watch and experience. Her body was a temple that was both open for prayer, and for human sacrifice. Vicious, and yet so generous at the same time. A loving mother with a firm hand.

He only wished he could have been making love with her in able to share in her physical nirvana, but this experience was still going to become one of his most treasured memories. He wouldn't take it back, not for the world.

"You put goddesses to shame, Sakura." The redhead whispered, his fingers abandoning her as her cries dried up. He gazed along her small yet heaving breasts, her glistening creamy skin bathed in moonlight.

He was enslaved by her ethereal beauty, and pondered on how such a creature could even exist.

"I've never seen anyone so stunning in my entire life. You are perfection... a bright sun outshining tiny stars... you're so beautiful..." Gaara brushed some damp pink locks away from her flushed face, and witnessed tears beginning to roll down her cheeks. It didn't hurt him when it probably should have, he was too enraptured with her to feel anything else.

Sakura started crying, for real this time. Her body started to heave painfully as the tears continued to pour from her eyes. He wondered if he had hurt her, but then realized quickly that she felt no physical pain.

She rolled over to face him, her arms shooting out to cling to him desperately while she mourned. It only slightly broke his heart, while the rest absorbed the moment greedily.

"I'm sorry-" The pinkette wailed, and he hushed her.

"Don't be, I understand..." The redhead held her to him protectively, kissing the top of her head like she belonged to him-

That's when the pain sunk in. He realized exactly why she was crying so hard now.

She didn't belong to him.

She didn't belong to Suna, and he would probably not see her for another few years.

What was beautiful was now broken, but he didn't let her see him cry. Instead he dedicated himself to keeping her comfortable as her heart broke in his strong arms.

Even while mourning over his thoroughly abused feelings, he regretted nothing. Gaara would let his heart become bloodied and useless if it meant that she would eventually crawl back into his bed, and lay helplessly in his arms.

He would die for her if it meant she would love him, even if her love only lasted for a moment. He would tie his own noose for it.

**AN: I hope that satisfied some of you! Yes of course it is going to end on a dramatic note because drama is spicy. I can't seem to go into pure fluff, it's just not for me. **

**Let me know what you think in the reviews ;)**


	12. Chapter 12

**AN: Warning, sexual content.**

He knew she would come here, however he wasn't sure on what type of conversation they would have. Especially so late in the night.

The redhead was currently looking for black clothes for Chiyo's funeral deep inside his walk-in closet when she arrived, but he had sensed her long before regardless.

"Sakura." He murmured to her without looking away from his task, listening to her breathe deeply like a calm before a storm.

Gaara waited, and there was no response. It got him curious enough to look away from his gathered clothing, finding her standing there looking bitter. It wasn't his fault that Chiyo gave up her life in exchange for his, he didn't make that choice-

"You failed in killing that Akatsuki asshole." Sakura seethed, and he realized that she was essentially blaming him for not being strong enough. Something he had already salted the wounds with already.

"I did fail, and I am sorry." The redhead shifted his eyes to the side, and took the blame head on. He always would, for he was the leader of his village. His job was to succeed with as minimal casualties as possible.

"You...you-!" The pinkette slammed the closet door behind her so hard that a stack of folded pants fell off of his shelf, and onto his floor along with a stack of blankets.

"Next time I will succeed-"

"Next time? Next time!? YOU DIED!" Sakura screamed, charging up to face him with bitter tears. "YOU WERE DEAD! DEAD DEAD DEAD DEAD-!"

Every time she said the word 'dead' her fist would punch at his chest, not with anything backing them of course, but they still stung. She began crying like a small child throwing a tantrum, smacking away at him so she could release her frustrations.

She was mourning, and it wasn't for Chiyo right now; it was for him.

For some odd reason it warmed his heart that she would be so upset by his 'passing'. When he initially woke up from his dirt nap she seemed to be more livid than relieved to see him.

He had thought that she did not want him to be alive for a while, but now he realized that she mourned a bit differently than others. His death had a greater impact on her than anyone else knew.

Well, how could they? No one really knew what had happened between them except them. They didn't ever talk about it outside themselves. It wasn't like they were hopeless lovers, it was more of an accident.

Okay, no, he was pushing for it obviously, but on her part it was more of a fling. Nothing more than that.

Or at least that was what he initially thought.

"Sakura... I'm sorry-"

"I'M NOT FINISHED! DON'T START APOLOGIZING UNTIL I'M DONE!" The pinkette shrieked wildly at him within the small space, still continuing to hit with pointless punches that were only bothersome than painful. It was plain to see that she wished him to be alive and well, and actually hurting him was not on the agenda. Eventually her fire burned out, leaving her tired, and trembling.

"Naruto lost it... he went absolutely insane..." She murmured in an almost crazed state, and it was when she grew quiet that he knew he had to hold onto her in some way. His pale hands covered the tops of her shoulders, smoothing his thumbs over her bare deltoids. "Now I'm losing it... gods be damned I'm going fucking crazy-!"

"I'm right here. I'm not leaving this world any time soon, alright?" Gaara gave the kunoichi a warm smile, then patted her shoulder carefully. She seemed to be lost somewhere in her head, making him feel guilty for even existing in the first place. "I should probably get back to looking for my funeral wear... maybe get some sleep-"

"What?" Sakura blinked at that, her eyes narrowed at him in confusion.

The redhead couldn't contain the small smile that spread across his features.

"I'm going to sleep. I don't have to worry anymore about Shukaku... I can finally rest..." It was a stupid thing to get excited over, but it was something he never got to really partake in often. Something natural that everyone took for granted.

"Although, his absence is not something I am completely happy about. In fact, I find myself missing him more often than not-"

"I guess you enjoyed being dead... more than you enjoyed being alive." The pinkette hissed once more, confusing him greatly.

"No. In fact, I was very lonely..." Gaara blinked as her expression grew more sour, more angry. "Why are you so upset, Sakura? Please, let me try to fix it-"

"STOP LIVING FOR OTHER PEOPLE! LET SOMEONE ELSE FIX YOUR PROBLEMS FOR A CHANGE!" Sakura started screaming again, making him recoil with even more confusion.

He didn't understand why she was so upset. This was very strange for him. Was he supposed to hug her? Hold her? Console her?

"What do you want from me-?" He went to ask, but then felt his body get pushed back until he was slammed into the opposite wall. A stack of towels came tumbling over them in a waterfall of fabric, one draping over his head before he flung it off of himself in frustration.

"No! What do YOU want, Gaara?! No more sacrifices! Be fucking selfish for once!" The pinkette shouted at him desperately, giving him just a piece of a larger puzzle.

However, he felt his heart clench, and his pale hands wrapped around her own.

"I was a selfish child once, and I murdered a lot of people because it gave me great pleasure in life." The moment he met her eyes was the same second he had to look away. His admission was not something he was proud of. "When I was a selfish person I held you down by force so that I could know for just once in my life what the warmth of another person really felt like. What a... girl felt like..."

The redhead swallowed hard, staring at the floor in an attempt to keep his shame hidden from her.

"If I were a selfish person now you would hate me. You would hate me so much-"

"Why?" Sakura pressed sternly, and he tensed from the tone.

"Because if I were to be... selfish... I would take what I wanted from you without remorse. I know I would, because I have been capable of it before... I am still a monster despite the fact that I am no longer a jinchuriki." His breathing was shallow, yet he felt like he was panting with exertion. "I still murdered all those people, and I still attacked you out of pure selfish desire. I don't want to hurt anyone, and I don't want to be alone anymore-"

"So you're truly just willing to settle, even after looking death in the face?" The pinkette frowned at him when he nodded, and she ended up shaking her head in the end. "You're such an idiot!"

"I know..." Gaara answered softly with defeat, his body going limp as she repeatedly slammed his shoulders against the wall behind him. He was losing the will to fight her, or anyone for that matter.

"No! WAKE UP! TAKE FUCKING CHARGE!" Sakura started screaming again, hitting him harder than she had before.

Sand started slithering in under the door, as if it were a careful guard keeping a watchful eye.

"Sakura, stop-"

"Then fucking make me." The pinkette charged up her hand, and swung an open handed slap across his face. It burned badly, and his sand rushed over to swirl gently across the stinging cheek. Another chakra pulse had him starting to really hurt as she slammed him repeatedly into the wall.

"SAKURA, STOP-!" The redhead shouted.

"MAKE ME!" Sakura screamed back in his face, and his temper started to rise from her disrespectful behavior.

Didn't she care that he just came back from the grave? What was going on with her?

Another slap brought his attention back, and with his rage starting to really flow out of control he knew what he had to do-

He pushed her roughly away from him, and turned to leave.

"Where are you going-?!"

"I'm done. You want to fight? Go try it with someone who didn't just rise out of their grave." Gaara spat venomously as he stormed the short distance to the door, tensing as he heard her run up behind him.

'Crap.'

The pinkette gave a feral sound when she lept to tackle him. His body flattened against the floor that just happened to flood with sand at the last minute. She was screaming like a monster, wrestling with him until he was able to get her pinned.

Thank the gods he had been practicing his hand to hand, as she was exceptional in taijutsu.

"STOP FIGHTING ME!" The redhead finally snapped at her, his patience reaching its end.

She looked up at him wide eyed. Something flashed in her jade orbs, but he couldn't catch just what it was. Fear, perhaps?

No, more like she had remembered something that haunted her. Something from the past that followed her into her adult life-

It dawned on him that they had been in this situation once before so long ago. It was on a night much like this one. Quiet, and filled with moonlight. Her tears were glittering in her eyes, shadowed by her pink hair.

Damnit all, she turned out even more beautiful than he could have ever imagined, and her scent never changed.

"When Sasuke left I was completely heartbroken... I didn't want to do anything... I just wanted to die." Sakura began speaking, her pupils dilating as she stared straight into his soul with unblinking jade eyes. "When you died... I killed one of the men responsible. I knew nothing else but determination... just to get your fucking corpse returned back to us."

Her body didn't shake, nor did her voice change it's tone, but her eyes started pouring out tears despite those facts.

"I wanted... to see you sleep. Being at peace for probably the first time in your life... but I was so fucking angry. I was so angry with you, Gaara... for leaving me behind like he did." That time she did sniffle, and with a scoff she turned her head to the side.

"I love Sasuke, and when he left I couldn't function. Yet when you died all I could see was the color red. The red that you wear every day, the red in your hair, the blood of your victims... and the revenge in my heart as I killed Sasori. He looked a lot like you... you were everywhere, and yet you were gone at the same time... what the hell does that mean?" The pinkette closed her eyes as more tears fell, but she continued none the less.

"I don't know what I would do if Sasuke was killed, I would probably mourn him... but you... your passing made me want to destroy lives. I don't understand it..."

"I'm not dead anymore. You can stop fighting, Sakura-"

"Stop fighting... who, exactly?" Sakura turned to look at him once more with a lost expression, making his heart clench painfully. "Why am I fighting you? Why am I fighting myself? What am I trying to accomplish here?"

She went silent, almost as if she was waiting for him to answer for her, but he knew that she had to think for herself.

"I can't answer that, only you can." Gaara murmured as he went to pull away, freeing her wrists, but her hand quickly grasped the back of his neck to keep him there.

"I'm scared of the truth, that I want you to be in my life intimately when part of me knows that it isn't right-"

"There's nothing wrong with us being friends-"

"But we don't want to be 'just friends' anymore, do we?" The pinkette looked as if her heart may be breaking, her hands ran into his crimson hair while he stared at her with wide cyan eyes. The touch alone was enough to make him tremble. "We want so much more... we want to touch, trust, hold, and confide in each other..."

"You're making it sound like we are forbidden lovers..." The redhead breathed, tensing as her hand smoothed down his cheek, and traced delicately over his pale lips.

"We're almost to that point, arent we? Every time we are together that line blurs just a little bit more... soon it will no longer exist-"

"What are you trying to say, Sakura?" Gaara shook his head in frustration until he felt both of her hands hold him still, forcing him to look at her.

"You have a second chance at life... I have a second chance to treasure my time with you..." Sakura's voice cracked, as did her careful composition. She took a shaking breath deep into her tensed lungs before nearly whimpering out her next words. "Be selfish with me... and let me be selfish with you."

He couldn't breathe.

Was this an invitation? The redhead wasn't sure, everything she said could be interpreted in so many ways. He needed to know if his assumptions were correct.

But he was scared. He didn't want to chase her away with his strange desires. This was already so precarious that the slightest tip in the scales could have everything toppling over. He had to be so careful.

"I'll follow you wherever you go, like I always have..." Gaara whispered gently, his heart hanging by a thread that could be cut at any moment.

His form was being pulled on, so he lowered himself until he could lay flush on top of her. He wondered if his weight would crush her, but she didn't seem to care.

"Don't ever die... not until we are old and gray-"

"You know I can't make that promise." The redhead interjected, but his hands held her head protectively. "No shinobi can make such a promise, especially not a Kage-"

Sakura started to cry underneath him, and he sighed as a result feeling waves of relentless guilt wash over him.

He wished that they could live a normal life, that he could have grown up to be a normal man. They could have a normal relationship too, instead of hiding behind closed doors. It was a sad wish, and an even sadder reality, but he was trying to make the most of it while he could.

His head was resting next to hers, and he turned it to speak gently against her tear soaked cheek.

"We need to treasure the time we have, because it is fleeting. We could be gone at any point in time... I want to truly appreciate the time we have left-"

The pinkette turned to face him, instantly placing her lips to his. She seemed relaxed, but the action still had him caught off guard. She pulled away to look at him, but her eyes still looked pained.

Suddenly his world turned, he was pushed onto his back while she clambered over his frame. Another kiss was made, this time it was starving for his affection.

Wide eyed, and in total shock, Gaara was totally lost in what he should even do in this moment.

Was this just a heated kiss? Or did she want more from him?

It seemed that the answers were given right as he began asking himself what was happening. Her hands were tugging roughly at the buckles to his vest that usually held his gourd. The article was soon ripped away with his red coat being next on her list of things that had to go.

"Sakura..." The redhead breathed as calmly as he could, being reserved and cautious as the coat was roughly opened to reveal the standard shinobi netted top underneath. "What...are you doing-?"

Suddenly the buckle on his pants became the new enemy, making him force a hard swallow as she literally whipped the leather from his belt loops. It made a light cracking sound, that was how hard she had pulled on the thing.

"Slow down." Gaara felt his backbone grow back, his hands stopping her right as she unzipped his pants.

"What... why?!" Sakura's jade orbs looked angry, and confused. "This is what you always wanted, right?! You have always been chasing after me-!"

"I don't want to do this unless it's something you truly want, and I'm not going to have you lose your virginity on my closet floor." The redhead leaned up to argue, but was swiftly pushed back down by his shoulders.

"So now the one time I'm actually giving myself to you, you reject me?! Is this a game to you?!" The pinkette gripped his hair firmly, sand beginning to swirl around her wrist as she gave a light tug.

"I'm not rejecting you! And no, it's not a game to me... it was only a game when I first met you, after that I came to truly care for you. I swear it." Gaara winced as she tugged again, and he knew his sand had to be hardening around her arm by now.

"Do you really care, Gaara? Cause I thought I was always just some girl you wanted to warm your bed-"

"No! It's much more than that! If I didn't love you then why the hell would I put up with all of this?! I have girls lined up at the ready that I could possibly sleep with, yet I haven't held affections for any of them! I have declined every last one!" He felt desperate for her to know just how much he cared, his words coming out before he could even remotely think them through.

He hadn't realized his mistake. A word uttered to her that he couldn't even admit to himself yet he spoke it without a second thought, and it remained unnoticed by him.

Her eyes stared at him, widened with shock. It had him so unnerved that he felt his temper rise once again.

"Is that so hard to believe?! That I would pass up on pretty faces-?!"

"N-no! No... you said... you said that you... never mind, please don't worry about it. I'm sorry for saying such things to you." Sakura deflated, her once raging fire now leaving her in a tired state.

The redhead watched her carefully as her demeanor seemed to instantly change. She seemed more relaxed now, shy almost. She tucked a piece of her pink hair behind her ear with a gentle blush to her cheeks. It left him so confused as to why she would act so strange.

"You think you're a monster... but you are one of the kindest people I know, Gaara." The pinkette murmured, her hands moving forward to splay across his chest. He blinked in disbelief at the confident touch, wondering just what sort of spell she was trying to weave.

"I know you won't hurt me... I know you care... I'm just trying to treat this moment as if I were ripping off a bandaid, but that's not fair to you. I bet you're just as afraid of getting close to someone, and you don't know what you have until it's screaming right in your face." Her creamy fingers gripped at the fabric of his netted shirt while her eyes remained downcast. He felt his initial anger disappeared in an instant.

"I'm sorry for yelling at you-"

"No, that's not what I meant, but thank you for the apology." Sakura shook her head with a slight smile, but then her expression turned sad. "You know I love Sasuke, right?"

Of course he knew that.

He always knew that, and it always hurt. However, there was nothing he could do to change that fact. So he would treasure whatever she was willing to give him for however much time he had with her.

"I've always known." Gaara answered her, but despite this her face twisted as if she were going to cry.

"Is it awful of me to still want you too? To desire both of you?" Her voice cracked, and tears began pouring down her face again.

His heart started pounding relentlessly against his sternum, and his mouth went dry. He didn't know what to say, all he could was watch her crumble before him like the broken soul she truly was. She covered her face with her hands in shame, all the while sobbing into them like a small child.

"I'm so sorry-!"

"Don't be sorry. I understand." The redhead sat up with her still in his lap, yet he didn't understand why he was even moving towards her. His arms wrapped around her shivering frame, rubbing her back gently. "It's okay if you can't choose, I'm not offended by it-"

'What am I even saying?!' He inwardly screamed at himself, knowing just how much this girl was about to shatter his fragile heart. Yet he still leaned further into her, still inhaled her perfect scent, still felt the unstoppable desire to comfort her.

He wished they hadn't resurrected him, and yet he was also so thankful just to hold her crying form in his arms again.

"I'm so disgusted with myself... I'm so confused..." The pinkette shook her head, her arms moving out to cling to him. "I want you... right now... but I still love Sasuke-"

"That's fine. If you don't want a relationship with me... it's okay. It would be difficult to have such a romance between borders... it's not practical..." Gaara sighed, holding her desperately despite his broken heart. He was forever enslaved to her desires, and would lay himself before her at any opportune moment.

No matter what he would belong to her, and she didn't even realize what power she had over him.

"Remember when we went on our 'pretend' date? We can still do that... just for now... we can pretend..." He spoke just barely above a whisper, his needs making themselves bare for her to see.

Pretend.

A play at a romance with her, and nothing more.

Just to taste such a life. It hurt him, but he was so desperate just to experience her love that he couldn't keep himself from attempting such a sad thing. He waited patiently for her reply, and felt warmed by her tightening embrace.

"Okay." Sakura's voice cracked, and shook. His brows furrowed as she began to tremble all over, and took his face into her hands. "We'll pretend..."

The redhead watched in pain as tears relentlessly fell down her cheeks, but then felt the ache be soothed by a sudden passionate kiss. He wasn't prepared for it, but he didn't falter in placing his hands on her either. When prodded he gladly parted his lips for her, and allowed her tongue to slip against his own pleasantly.

Gaara felt the butterflies squirm inside him from the promise of going further than he had before, and as she grinded against his lap he felt he could hardly hold back any longer.

It couldn't wait. He couldn't even get his clothes off to do it. He was desperately pinning her to the floor as their legs became entangled, and he arched his hips so firmly against her own that it actually hurt.

But it didn't matter if it hurt. He just had to get there with her in any way, shape, or form.

Their kiss broke, and Sakura went to drag her teeth sharply against his neck. He groaned, hissing as he inhaled while desperately grabbing at her backside to press her even further against him.

"Tell me... again..." The pinkette whimpered and moaned against his neck as their bodies rocked against each other. He pushed her so firmly into the floor that he knew it would bruise her perfect skin. "Say that you... love me..."

Gaara let out a pitched cry, his naked brows furrowing bittersweetly as his heart shattered in his chest. Then he slowed, but only so that he could truly address her.

He took a breath, a motion his body didn't seem to want to do.

But he had to do it, he needed to say it. She had to know...

"I... I have always loved you."

The redhead took a sharp breath to keep himself from nearly bursting into tears, which left him completely shaken. His skull lowered until he rested his forehead on her sternum. His tears unfortunately escaping despite his careful control, and soaked into her red shirt.

"Gaara..." Sakura whimpered, petting his hair gently as a harsh sob escaped him.

"I love you. I love you to the point that it hurts, and I would die again just to know you loved me too..." Gaara heaved his breaths through his tears, and gripped harshly along her curves and thighs. "But this pain... this heartache... it makes me feel alive... it's disgusting, but I'm thriving off it. I love you more than anything-"

The redhead groaned as he pressed his hips against hers so hard he wondered if his pelvis would break, but he forgot all about the pain when he felt her return the gesture.

The pinkette whined, gasped, and mewled. His instinct forced him to push himself further, to become harder, and move faster. She matched his rough gestures, then brought his face up to look her in the eyes.

Dilated jade orbs pierced through his soul, forcing him to become completely exposed to her.

All of his dark desires, the indecent lust he felt for her, the innocent childish love he still carried in his heart, and the sickening jealousy he felt for Sasuke all made themselves flesh right before them. Her windows were stripping him down to his last raw piece, turning him into a feral human monster.

Gaara watched in a daze as she started to cry out sharply, her eyes never leaving him even though they threatened to close with an unearthly blush to her cheeks. She screamed out his name repeatedly, and each time was like a crack of a whip against his back forcing him to press beyond pain and beyond ecstasy until he felt the flames lick up his spine into his skull.

As the bright panging pleasure forced a blinding headache he managed to scream through gritted teeth, his world tilting as stars sparked in his peripheral vision. His breath heaved as an honest moan finally left him, and his pulsing climax pounded out with the beat of his heart.

Sakura leaned up to kiss him as his final whimpers escaped, her tongue licking inside his mouth as he figured out how to move the muscle properly again. Once he had come down enough to return her kiss he felt a glow come to his entire form.

She smelled so good, and felt so pliable in his hands. Everything about her drove him insane yet he just couldn't get enough.

He had wanted to fuck her brains out, yet he didn't even have the patience to get their clothes off to actually get the job done. Instead they had desperately grinded against each other until they got what they both needed.

In truth he considered this a failure, and yet what was shared was irreplaceable. He wouldn't change it for anything.

"Gaara..." The pinkette murmured against his lips, forcing him to hum in acknowledgment. "Say it... again..."

Whatever she wanted. He would give it to her a thousand times over.

"I love you." The redhead spoke between passionate kisses, running his fingers through her hair while breathing through his nose. He felt her shaking, crying as he repeated himself at her request, so he continued to whisper the words between kisses and bitten lips.

He couldn't stop saying it.

\- ... - ... -

The moon was shining on her pink hair, giving it an ethereal glow. She laid on top of his covers with a thin knit blanket covering her. He knew she hadn't meant to fall asleep, but she had also done so much fighting and work since she had arrived in Suna. The stress, and the fooling around did nothing to give her energy.

Gaara brushed some pink strands from her cheek, and stared hopelessly at her sleeping face. He wanted to keep her here forever. He wanted to steal her away from Konoha, and have her live with him until they grew old and died.

He loved her. Loved her to the point that it made him stupid, but he didn't care. He wanted her forever.

"Someday you'll see that you feel the same way... and I will welcome you with open arms... I will love you how you have always deserved to be loved... and you will love me too..." The redhead felt something break inside of him, but chose to ignore it thinking it was just Shukaku-

Shukaku was gone, and he was alone inside his head for the first time in his entire life. The thought frightened him, and he moved in closer to hold Sakura tightly. His form shivered, and her hands wrapped around him.

"What's wrong?" The pinkette groaned sleepily, and he shook his head.

"It's nothing... please ignore it-"

"Gaara, you're shaking." Sakura woke up a bit more, and brushed his red hair from his eyes. "You look frightened-"

"It's not-...I'm... I'm just..." Gaara's breath heaved tightly as his world started to shift. "I-I'm a-alone... I'm alone... it's empty here... in my head..."

As the redhead clawed firmly at his temples the woman of his affections quickly took over the situation. She moved so that his head was close to her heart, and she cradled his skull while hushing him lovingly. Her fingers dragged gently through his hair, and he felt soothed by her continuous presence.

"It's okay, you're not alone." The pinkette's voice was soft and cooing, like a gentle dove. "You're safe with me... I'm right here."

Gaara took a deep inhale, relaxing under her touch and her scent while the sound of her heartbeat lulled him into a sleepy daze. Her delicate fingers through his hair had him buzzing pleasantly, and his lids began to lower without fear.

For the first time in his life he fell asleep without anxiety, in the arms of someone he loved.

**AN: Happy 4th! I've noticed some art floating around that has similar elements to things I have written. I'm sure it is just coincidence, but if any of you have made fan art inspired by my stories I would love to see them! **


	13. Chapter 13

**AN: I've had this written for a long time, and I know that I wanted to wait to post it until I had more chapters written, but it is getting quite slow. I'm reaching that point in a story where I have no clue what I'm doing anymore lol. At any rate, I hope this makes the small few fans I have happy for the time being. **

The funeral was dreary, and his speech was just as sad.

In all honesty he had rather liked granny Chiyo despite her initial feelings about him. She didn't 'take shit' from anyone, and he had stated as such in his memoriam of her. Kankuro had also said some sweet words about her puppet mastery, and Sakura had even wrote a small piece on her last moments.

The entire time that Sakura cried he had wanted nothing more than to hold her, but he knew how dangerous it was for them if he had tried.

Thinking back on it now as he walked through the darkened hallways of the Kage building he wondered if it would have been fine for him to give an embrace to his friend and ally, but then kept circling back to how he wouldn't be able to hide his affection for her in such a scenario-

He heard crying coming from a small library they had used for their more personal tomes. Things like their childhood fairytales, cook books, learning textbooks, and family historium. It was a small room, about the size of a common bedroom lined with bookshelves on the walls, and was not very special or sought after.

The redhead peeked in regardless of who was inside, but was pleasantly surprised by who he had found.

"Sakura?"

She whipped around in an instant, holding a fistful of crumpled tissues. At first she had looked startled, but then gave a sigh of relief.

"Oh good, it's just you." The pinkette wiped her eyes, and gave a small broken smile as she leaned her back against the wall of books. "What are you doing here? Don't you have work?"

"Once again, you don't seem to realize that I need a break. I feel sorry for Tsunade-"

"Oh hush! She needs a butt whooping if anything!" Sakura giggled at first, but then her demeanor began to turn shy. Her eyes looked him up and down quickly before averting off to the side. "So... why are you here? Did you need something from me?"

Gaara blinked at her curiously as he took a step into the room. He closed the door behind him quietly, and when he turned back to face her he noticed a blush beginning to darken on her creamy cheeks.

'She must think I came here for 'other' reasons.' He inwardly laughed, but outwardly shook his head with a smile.

"I heard someone crying, and I wanted to help. I'm sort of glad it's you, because I'm not terribly good at consoling strangers." The redhead gave a soft chuckle, and felt relieved when he saw her relax.

"I saw more than enough girls draping themselves over you while crying, that must have been fun." The pinkette snorted with distaste, but he decided to be honest with her.

"I know the difference between crocodile tears and reality. I am sorry I couldn't console you out there... I couldn't draw attention to us-"

"Yeah, I was expecting to be comforted, but you kind of blew me off for groupies." Sakura feigned a jealous huff, but then managed a small smile afterwards. "I expect you to make it up to me."

Gaara gave an honest laugh, closing the distance from the door to her in the span of a few slow steps. He didn't fail to notice her eyes tracing his form for the briefest of moments.

"How would you like me to make it up to you?" The redhead murmured gently, and took both of her hands into his own to lace their fingers together.

The pinkette stared at their intertwined hands, her eyes beginning to turn sad for the hundredth time that day.

He wanted to make her pain disappear. He wanted her to smile.

"Make me forget about death for a while... remind me that both you and I are alive... and that... you love me..." A small blush appeared on her cheeks as she said it, and he slipped his fingers out from their laced hands just so he could gently cup her face in his palms. "Prove to me... how much you love me..."

Her eyes darted up to his in an instant, her blush deepening as he captured her lips with a delicate kiss. As she melted into it he pulled away to keep her captivated, and gingerly ran his fingertips down her neck and chest.

"I will help you forget. The only word you will remember is my name, and I will provide you a love that I have never given to anyone else." Gaara spoke just above a whisper, his hands tracing her curves until they focused on the hem of her skirt. He trailed up the garment until his hands played with the waistband of her shorts, tugging them down just far enough to get past the swell of her backside.

"Gaara... it's not safe in here to do this..." Sakura whimpered fearfully, and yet did not even move to stop him. His haunting cyan eyes darted up to hers with mischief sparkling in their depths.

"Alright, try to keep quiet if you don't want to get caught." The redhead smirked a bit more than what was normal for him, and the innocent flush to her cheeks nearly overwhelmed her entire face.

"Gaara, we should go-" She started to hesitate, but he put a porcelain finger to her pouting lips.

"I told you... the only word you will remember is my name-" Gaara whispered, and as he gently tugged her shorts and underwear down to her knees he gave her a knowing smile.

"Gaara-"

"...And I will provide you-" The redhead slowly got to his knees while his hands traced along her bare hips and backside.

She gasped as he moved, then looked away with a squeak as he lifted her skirt.

"-A love that I have never given to anyone else... this is my gift..." He didn't wait, the second he saw her flushed womanhood was the moment he placed his lips upon it.

Her whole body jumped from the sudden foreign touch, but he didn't let it deter him from allowing his tongue to taste her.

She tasted unlike anything else. She was sweet, tart, salty, and tangy all at the same time. Her feminine folds were soft against his lips, and the small bundle of nerves that he had always wanted to touch felt intriguing on his tongue.

"Gaara..." She whimpered his name, her delicate fingers dragging through his locks with a carnal need. He shivered under the feeling of her nails against his scalp, and let out a heated breath against her wet skin.

Sakura whined, and pulled on his crimson locks forcing him to groan with desire, but he wanted her to finish first. He wanted her to go weak in the knees, call for him wantonly, and beg him to plunge inside of her.

Gaara lapped at her greedily, tasting more of her on his tongue with every lascivious lick. He allowed the smooth muscle to slip inside her, tasting her on a full spectrum before going back to his previous work on her sensitive pearl.

"Gaara-!" The pinkette mewled sharply, tugging his crimson hair with one hand while cradling the base of his skull with the other. Her hips rose up to meet him eagerly as she panted and whined his name like a prayer.

She sounded so innocent when she made those kitten-like noises, and with each pitchy cry of his name he felt shocks go through his core. Like a siren she called out to him so that he would crash upon her frighteningly beautiful shore.

The hairs rose up on his neck as her fingers clawed into the skin, and her other hand abandoned his locks in favor of covering her whining mouth. Even behind her palm her whimpering grew terribly loud, but he no longer cared if anyone heard her.

Let them come, let them see her in the ecstasy only he could give her. All that mattered was that she cried out his name, and that she knew that he loved her enough to humbly kneel before her to pray at her sacred temple.

"Gaara-!" Sakura pulled her hand away one last time to desperately cry out his name before having to slam it back to hide her screams.

His hands gripped at her trembling hips and the swell of her perfect backside as he hungrily lapped at her. Her knees weakened enough that she had to abandon everything to hold herself up by his shoulders, and his name was screamed at him without any form of protection.

Her fingers dug into his shoulders painfully as her voice cut out into silence, she held her breath as her body tensed painfully with a powerful climax. He could taste her thickly on his tongue, her unique flavor was now bold from her intense pleasure, but it wasn't bad. If anything the taste made him hum against her folds knowing he had done his job well.

It wasn't until she started whimpering and squirming did he finally slow his motions, and it took her pulling his head back by his hair to make him to stop. He looked up at her with a heavy pant, and as he drank in her flushed and lidded gaze he felt a smug grin creep across his features.

"I wish you would look at me like that more often-"

"Shut... up..." The pinkette huffed with exhaustion, and he gave a breathless laugh as a result. As her hands loosened from his hair he took her wrist to delicately kiss the underside.

"I'm on my knees before you... is this not what you wanted?" The redhead smiled smartly at her, but then faltered as her lidded eyes only lowered further. Her flushed features deepened, but did not look shy in the slightest.

"Fuck me... please..." Sakura begged softly.

The room went deathly quiet.

Gaara had to do a double take, he shook the blood back to his brain and blinked rapidly at her in bewilderment.

"I'm sorry... what did you just say?" The redhead furrowed his naked brows, staring at her like she were a figment of his imagination.

Instead of answering him she shimmied her shorts from her knees down to the floor, and quickly stepped out of them. As she came to kneel with him he felt himself almost backing away out of shock.

"Right now? Right here-?" Gaara grunted as he was pushed back, and she clambered over him desperately. Her lips were on his in seconds, and his eyes widened in amazement from her boldness.

She was kissing him, even though he had just gotten done devouring her like a favorite snack. He knew her taste was still on his tongue, yet she dove past his parted lips to passionately kiss him despite that fact.

What had he tapped into? What was this strange phenomena that was rapidly unfolding in front of him? Did he break her somehow?

**_SLAM!_**

Both parties jumped at the sound, and went completely still. He looked over to the door, seeing a silhouette in the colored glass window. Footsteps quickly ran away from the scene, and he felt his blood run cold.

They were not heavy steps, but smaller ones. Either a woman or youth was the owner, and they obviously wanted him to know that they had seen him. This person clearly did not appreciate what he was doing with the leaf kunoichi.

"Gaara... someone... someone saw us-"

"I will handle this. Please don't stress over it, okay?" The redhead soothed her, and turned her face away from the door to gaze back into his eyes. Her worried expression pulled on his heartstrings, and he quickly stole a kiss that was gently returned.

Sakura pushed off of his chest to give them each some space, her cheeks an intense shade of red. She bit her lip as her eyes darted around his body, then backed off of him so that they could both stand.

"I'm sorry... I shouldn't have jumped you." The pinkette brushed some hair behind her ear awkwardly as he finally got to his feet, but he could find no other reaction but to chuckle breathlessly.

"I really don't mind, you should know this by now." Gaara raised a hairless brow at her, and flashed a carefree smirk. However, she was quick to scoff at him for it.

"Pervert-"

"Only for you." He stepped forward to give her a chaste kiss, then brushed past her to get to the door. He turned back just in time to see her pressing her fingers to her lips with a sweet blush. "I'm going to take care of the issue at hand, but I might call on you later-"

"Pffft! This was a fluke! I am not going to be draping myself all over you!" Sakura crossed her arms in a stubborn huff, but he knew better.

She had already approached him twice now for the one thing she claimed would never happen between them, and she had been almost violent with her desire for it. This of course did not bother him, he was more than pleased by it. However, he also wanted the moment to be special, and so he was happy for the little interruption as he knew he wouldn't have been able to stop himself otherwise.

"Whatever you would like to do tonight is up to you. I'll let you think it over." The redhead shot a genuine smile her way, and quickly retreated from the room.

His face turned to stone then, knowing that this was merely the calm before the storm. With a deep breath he calmly made his way through the building, each step sounding off his impending doom.

-...-...-...

The first odd thing was the fact that when he had reached his office the door had been cracked open; he distinctly remembered closing it earlier.

The second odd thing was that there were two people already waiting for him inside.

And the two talented men did not seem to be in the best of moods.

"Gaara, we need to talk." Kankuro was the first to speak, but Kakashi was giving him a look that said everything he needed to know.

He had been caught red handed, and had been outed. Revealed with the intent to put a stop permanently to his romantic activities.

'A woman's work indeed. I need to be careful...'

"There's nothing to talk about-" The redhead went to walk past them both, but felt his arm get caught firmly by the leaf shinobi.

"Oh there is plenty that needs to be discussed." Kakashi spoke in a low tone that demanded obedience, but the young Kazekage was not usually one to take orders from anyone.

"I respect you, Kakashi, I ask that you provide the same courtesy-"

"I'll respect you when you learn how to curb those cravings of yours." The edge to his voice was sharp like a knife, making Gaara go still.

"Kakashi, it's going to be fine. We're discussing this now, and we'll have it all cleared up in a moment. Right, Gaara?" Kankuro attempted to be sympathetic, but the redhead was more angered by it than he was eased. "It's a one time deal, it's not going to happen again-"

"It'll happen as much as she wants it to happen." Gaara turned his head slowly towards both of them with a threatening look in his eyes. The air instantly grew thick with tension while he continued to hiss. "You have no right to step in. It is none of your business-"

"I am her teacher, and I am making it my business-!"

"You WERE her teacher. Not anymore. She is Tsunade's protege now, and she is old enough to make her own decisions." The redhead ripped his arm out of the jounin's grasp with a vicious glare, a look he hadn't sported for a while, and the surprise showed on the older man's half hidden features. "She's not a child anymore-"

"Yes, judging by the way you were examining her you obviously know better than anyone else." Kakashi seethed before practically pointing a finger at him. "You preyed on her-!"

"SHE CAME TO ME FIRST! YOU KNOW NOTHING ABOUT US!" Gaara yelled at the top of his lungs, forcing both the men to recoil out of shock.

It was unlike him to lose his cool, and it was unlike him to mess around with the opposite sex. Obviously there was a pattern here, that she had made a special place in his world where others could not.

And it had always been that way... he had just hidden it very well.

"How long has this been going on?" Kankuro piped up softly, and his younger brother set his threatening sights on him. "Has it been going on for a long time?"

There was a silence there that he wished he had filled, as it seemed to spell out many things for the two in front of him.

"Months? Years-?"

"The latter." He finally answered, looking away from them both to go towards his desk. He anxiously ran his hands through his messy hair, and then placed them firmly on the wooden surface.

"It started a long time ago when we were kids. We didn't understand what was happening between us, and as we got older it became clearer and clearer with each meeting. My recent 'death' seemed to be some sort of catalyst, and she came to me privately to seek comfort-"

"So you took advantage of that?!" Kakashi snapped, and the sound grated the young Kazekage to the point of snarling back at him.

"I do not take advantage of those that I love!" The redhead flipped around with his lips pulled back in a feral growl, indicating that the older man should step back. "I told her 'no' last night, but she kept coming at me for whatever affection I could give! She aimed at my heart, I bent to her will gladly, and yes, today I gave her what she desired!"

Gaara gripped his head into his hands, unable to look either of them in the face. Whether it was from his own shame, or from his bitterness of being judged he didn't know.

However, an old sensation came to him. It tingled in the base of his skull where the network connected to his spine. He hadn't felt this crazed sensation in so long, it was so comforting and familiar just to lose control of his emotions. As if everything had become so simple again-

"You don't understand... you just don't get it! When someone claims they care for you... you cannot turn them away... not when you feel so strongly for them. She has worked past my defenses, I have been unmade, you can never understand! Never! I am alone with these horrifying emotions-!"

A warm hand gripped his shoulder, and he flinched out of defense, but realized that it was only his older brother trying to console him. His face was gentle, his demeanor echoed safety and sanctuary. It instantly eased the younger brother, knowing that someone unconditionally had his best interests in mind.

"Gaara, I'm not judging you for it. Kakashi is a bit pissed, but you know I'm with you." This time his reassurance was comforting, and it had the redhead grateful that he had a kindly older brother.

"If you hurt her-" The silver haired man growled one last time, but stopped as he watched the redhead show a pained expression.

"No harm will come to her. I care far too much to watch her suffer in any way." Gaara's eyes went unfocused, looking past the man into the distance before zoning out completely. "The only person who will be hurt... is me."

The room went strangely quiet, almost to the point where he could hear the blood rushing through his ears. Everything was too raw, too loud, too bright, and tasted like ashes. The stress was getting to him now more than ever, and he no longer had Shukaku with him to give him any unwanted advice. No beast to inspire him to do better out of stubbornness.

No voice, no presence...

He was alone, horribly alone with himself.

"I need to go." The redhead stood up quickly, shaking his head at no one in particular. "Recent events have put too much pressure on me, and I hate to admit that I need some time to recover from it..."

Why was he saying these things out loud? What was wrong with him?

"That might be best... you're not looking too hot." Kankuro moved quickly to get to his brother, and help the younger to his feet. The world spun slightly regardless of how slowly he stood.

The ichibi's absence had a strange effect. Although his life force had been restored the initial damage to his person had not. All these years of avoiding sleep had been successful only due to Shukaku's power and presence. Now that there was no bijuu to heal his internal discrepancies, like brain damage from never resting properly, his body now decided it was time to catch up on all the recuperation it desired.

Stress, it seemed, was enough to make the Kazekage want to pass out.

"Woah!" Kankuro hollered as he held up his brother's weakened form, but the redhead no longer found the capability to stand as black spots appeared in his vision. "Gaara?! Hey, bud! You okay?!"

He could hear him, but he couldn't move his eyes anymore. All he could do was breathe.

"Shit! He's out cold!" The puppeteer sounded panicked, but an older voice seemed to calm him down.

"He's been through a lot of trauma, physically and mentally. I don't blame him for checking out." Kakashi sighed, and Gaara felt another pair of hands on him. "Let's get him on the couch, I'll watch over him if you want to grab a medic."

His body was set gently on a soft surface, and he was surprised that he could still hear everything that was being said despite losing everything else.

"I'll be right back, Gaara. Don't get any worse, okay?" Kankuro's voice was concerned, but the elder brother was quick to run out of the room regardless of the fact.

There was breathing, his own shallow inhales along with someone else's...

"I'm not so angry at you as I am with just the situation, I am simply protective of the people I care about. I can see that you obviously love Sakura... and there is nothing wrong with loving another person." Kakashi murmured gently, and the redhead felt his hands be folded across his own chest. "I just don't want to watch you two fall from the sky, which will inevitably happen. You know this too."

'Of course I do. She doesn't want me the way I want her... but I can't justify throwing away what I have just because I cannot have everything.' Gaara said inwardly, and if he could he would tell the man to his face how he felt.

The redhead was madly in love, near masochistic in his affection for her. He wanted to marry her, make children, and hold her wrinkled hand with his when they became old and grey. Despite this wholesome desire he knew it would never come true, as she had made those same plans with Sasuke in mind. Not him.

Right now, he was the rebound. Someone to pass the time, and ease the pain of loneliness. It would always be this way, and he had accepted that fact long ago.

Although, the worst part was how he compared it to death. You know that it will happen, but despite that fact you still desperately pretend that it is non existent, or that it isn't a factor now so it shouldn't be concerning.

Unfortunately it didn't change the truth of the matter, that all things end.

"That's why I was so stern with you. I know what it's like to be young... I've had my fair share of loves and heartbreaks. I don't want that to befall on either of you, forgive me." Kakashi fell from speaking softly to a mournful whisper. His warm hand wrapped comfortingly over the redhead's, and clenched his palm tight. "Find another girl, Gaara. I don't want to see you die again, my friend."

'If I had a choice in the matter... but it is not so easy.' Gaara thought sadly, his hand managed to twitch and close tighter in the leaf ninja's grasp. A slight bittersweet laugh sounded, but that was the last thing he heard before everything just shut off completely.

The redhead was clocked out for the day.

**AN:** **I hope you guys are still liking what I write. Eventually I want to move to AO3, it's just getting the motivation to do it that's the problem. **

**I have more fictions I've written, a lot more themes and prompts, but I wish to have them majorily finished before I post them. And with the way a re-read everything about 20 times (I'm not even exaggerating) that's going to take a long fucking time. My memory is absolute garbage, so I forget what I write almost immediately after I write it, so I re-read several times while writing, before posting, and I will have to re-read chapters before even writing the next. It's... torture kind of... but I also don't mind it? It just makes me very tired unless I am incredibly inspired. **

**So, I humbly ask for your guys' forgiveness for the time it takes on these, and I also thank you graciously for your patience. **

3 **Please review, and don't spare me anything. I read all of them, and some I hold very closely to my heart.**


	14. Chapter 14

**AN: Sorry for the long wait, here's some hella smut as an apology.**

The scent was what woke him first. It was a scent that he could never forget.

Cherry blossoms. Sometimes other things were mixed in, but she almost always used some sort of cherry blossom fragrance on her person. He inhaled slowly to thoroughly enjoy the scent.

Gaara felt pillows beneath him, soft bedding, smooth blankets, and silky hands plucking away at what he assumed was a sash around his waist. The cautious fingers filed through a robe, smoothing along his pectorals with a soft sigh. He continued breathing normally, but if she decided to get any more ideas it might be a bit more difficult to maintain calm.

An energy flowed through him then, and he realized that she was attempting to heal him rather than getting intimate. However, it wasn't any less enjoyable. Her feminine hands glided up from his collarbone all the way to his jaw. The healing energy soothed the tension from his neck instantly, and as her fingers danced their way up to his temples he gave a sigh of relief. The waves penetrated his skull, and flowed through the tissue of his brain. Different parts of his entire body began to feel energized and renewed, but it was simply caused by the healing energy to his head.

Sakura finally exhaled, and pulled her working hands back down slowly towards his heart. The healing energy had stopped, but it had made a larger impact than any of his current medics could even hope to achieve.

"Now you can rest properly..." The pinkette whispered to him, most likely assuming that he was still asleep.

The hands over his heart began tracing his musculature like they had in the past, only this time there was no shyness to the action. At one point she had grazed over his groin, and the area felt more tender than usual causing him to twitch. He cursed his body for the reaction, but then stopped all thought on the matter as her hand came back to rest over his currently firm length.

"You didn't get there earlier... it must ache now..." Sakura murmured softly, palming the concealed hardness with great skill. "I had asked something deplorable of you, and I apologize. You looked so scared... I wasn't expecting that, but then again you're a virgin too. I shouldn't assume that you'd be ready at the drop of a hat."

He didn't answer her, as he knew she would probably be embarassed if she found out that he was awake. Instead he stayed calm, and silent while she poured out her feelings.

"You're ready now though... aren't you? Maybe not mentally, but physically..." The pinkette began filing through the folds of his boxer briefs, and he felt her soft warm fingers slipping against him.

His heart was pounding as she felt over him like brail, reading the texture of him thoroughly while sending pleasant shocks through his system.

'If she doesn't stop... I'm going to lose it...' His breath was tightening, as was his heated core.

She had finally exposed him out into the air. He was holding his breath now, mentally preparing himself for whatever she might have planned next.

"It's not bad looking." He felt her fingers dance along the base of his shaft, a slight giggle to her tone as she did so. "You know... normally this would frighten me, but it's not so scary. In fact, I really like watching you react. Usually you're so stoic, but when we do these things together you're so... expressive."

She pumped him gently, and the warmth began flooding his entire body like a tidal wave.

"You only do these things with me... so before I leave for Konoha I want you to have something wonderful..."

There was a quiet pause, and then a soft shifting of weight on the bed. A firm hand on his hip, gripping most likely for some sort of balance or comfort.

Was she actually going to-?

The next sensation he felt had him arching his hips eagerly. Something warm, and wet traced him from base to tip. He assumed what it was, but was still in slight disbelief over it until her quiet tone reached his ears.

"You taste like skin... it's really not that bad. It must be the ending that has all the other girls gagging and complaining." Sakura broke out into a fit of giggles, but was quick to lap at him again.

'I'm going to die... again.' He inhaled deeply through his nose as he became hyper aware of the wet muscle licking at him.

Then she went slower, truly dragging her tongue firmly across the surface forcing him to shiver and pant.

"You're awake now, aren't you?" She nearly whispered.

Gaara swallowed hard, but nodded his head at her without opening his eyes. While he was ecstatic about this turn of events he also knew that his face would start burning if he looked at her-

"I'm glad. I want you to watch me do it." The pinkette murmured suggestively, and it was at that point that his eyes could no longer handle staying closed.

His blackened lids opened cautiously to find her centimeters away from his arousal, with teasing eyes she gave another lascivious lick along his shaft.

"Sakura..." The redhead whispered as the tingles she gave him went straight through his entire center. She giggled mischievously at him in response to his light squirming.

"It's okay now. I'm going to take good care of you." Sakura flashed him a quick flirtatious smile that warmed him deeply, then she opened her mouth to eagerly take his length past her pouting lips.

It was better than anything he had ever experienced so far, and he showed how much he liked it without shame.

Gaara groaned in relief, his hands reaching forward to immediately play with her silky pink locks. She gave a firm suck that provided him with a heady rush, and in response he moaned while absentmindedly tugging at her hair.

'It... feels so nice...' He inwardly melted.

It was incredibly relaxing. The sensation was soft and warm all around him, yet milking out his pleasure quite easily. There was no hard friction, no discomfort, just pleasant waves going through him as his body seemed to float. Her mouth was made to fit perfectly around him, and he found it extremely simple to find ecstasy in her actions.

"Sakura-" The redhead gave a low whine, and rolled his hips as her head started to bob.

Jade irises flashed up with a devilish smile in their depths, and she let him go only to hungrily lick and suck along the sides of his shaft.

Pink strands of hair had fallen into her eyes, so he brushed them away with a feather soft touch. She hummed favorably in response to the touch, so he repeated the gesture of gently stroking her cheeks and chin.

Before she could take his erection back into her mouth he ran his thumb along her moistened bottom lip, getting her attention on the digit in the most wonderful way. She wrapped her lips around his thumb, and sucked hard before opening her mouth with a heavy pant.

'She looks like an angel...'

It was like she wanted this, as if it greatly pleasured her to do this act for him. He held open her jaw carefully, and her tongue licked at his thumb and the tip of his erection shamelessly, as if she no longer had the patience to stay away from him.

"Sakura... my beautiful Sakura..." He whispered that time, not wanting to frighten her away with his possessive thoughts. She had heard him, and locked eyes with him longingly as she repeated the action of licking the tip of his length eagerly while his thumb played with her plush bottom lip.

It was the most erotic thing he had ever seen in his life, and yet he felt the initial high pushing to take it a step further. His morals were beginning to slip away into something darker, a thing he had burried away so that it couldn't hurt her.

But he couldn't stop it now, and he couldn't find shame in his actions or words. All he could think about was how lust-filled her eyes were, and how much he wanted to make them overflow with feeling for him.

Desperation, need, utter desire. He wanted her to become his slave for a little while... just a little while...

Gaara grabbed at his shaft, and gave it a light pump while she eagerly waited for her turn. He almost whimpered at the sight of her hungering eyes alone.

"You want this?" The redhead spoke huskily, and her jade eyes flashed up at him with need in their depths; the expression had him tensing throughout with the instinct to just shove himself inside her, but thankfully he hadn't completely lost his mind yet.

"Yes... please..." Sakura purred, and her hands kneaded impatiently on his sensitive thighs. "Give it to me... I want it so bad..."

'God help me.' Gaara felt himself get mentally thrown back, her reckless desire felt dominating and foreign, but it was so arousing that he swallowed hard with anticipation. The butterflies in his stomach were slamming themselves frantically against his walls, and he wondered if he could burst just from the desire alone.

"Alright... since you asked so nicely..." The redhead pressed his length towards her, and she greedily took him past her full lips.

She worked her way down towards the base of his shaft, and as she came back up her tongue coiled itself along the firm flesh before actively licking to coax out more pleasure.

Gaara gave a loud groan that had him placing a hand over his mouth bashfully. He could feel the tingling in his face worsen, his jaw felt loose as between moans he could only form a burning pant. His lungs were desperate, and his body was near squirming from the overstimulating ecstasy.

"Yes... yes..." The redhead whimpered, losing any form of masculine pride he had in favor of rolling his hips and lidding his hazy eyes. His tongue licked and sucked at his own lip in the midst of all of it, every now and then forcing a needy hum of desire.

Sakura gripped firmly at his thigh for support, and began bobbing her head more harshly than she had before. He could feel her throat vibrating as she hummed in her efforts, the sensation of everything mingling together had him gasping between harsh whines.

"Please... Sakura..." Gaara practically mewled, gripping so firmly at her hair that subconsciously he knew it had to hurt, but she showed no discomfort. In fact she simply quickened her pace, and gave even harder suction to her lips.

It was building, he was burning, melting, tensing, tingling, and near screaming all at the same time. It finally reached a point where he had to grind his teeth, and every muscle tensed as the ecstasy rampaged through him.

"Fuck... yes...!"

Nirvana, a complete and perfect high that left him silent and shaking.

The redhead felt his groin pulsing harshly, and her throat moved to accommodate the viscous essence invading her mouth. He focused his vision on her, not failing to notice even in his dumbed down state how his semen was spilling out of her mouth and down his shaft.

Her swollen lips parted to pant heatedly, and to his surprise he witnessed her licking up the remaining residue without discomfort or issue. Her mouth went so far as to lap up the semen on his testes as well, which was actually quite a pleasant sensation after all of the intensity.

He let out one last relieved groan, and his head lolled back on the pillow as it was unable to contain the weight any longer. He figured she would be stopping soon...

Any minute now.

She wasn't stopping, in fact she had gone right back to firmly suck at his weakened erection as if hoping it would return to its former fullness. It was too sensitive now, and every pass of her mouth had his breath hitching, and his body jerking.

"S-Sakura... stop-" Gaara groaned as his testes were then gently played with, and the sensation started to warm and tingle throughout his entire body.

His fingers and toes were the first to go numb, but soon his limbs in general were slowly falling asleep. His tongue was next, feeling the vibrations even into his teeth. Then his nose, and his eyes, and his ears...

The redhead could hear and feel his heart slamming against his sternum, and it scared him a bit on how his body seemed to love and loathe the attention. He kept taking panicked breaths, but the constant rushing of air left spots in his vision.

"S-Sa..kura... pl..ease..." His body was too weak to fight back, or support itself. It was so much, and he wasn't prepared for it.

The torture continued on, and on. He didn't know how much time had passed but he had been stuck in a state of great pleasure and oversensitivity for too long. Something was going to give-

After a fair amount of her licking and sucking he suddenly felt the familiar pangs of climax begin. The usually slow to build sensation was in overdrive, taking him by surprise as he bucked and cried.

Gaara clawed his hands into the bedding, and his body had pulled tight like a bow string ready to snap. His form was violently shivering in it's efforts, and his voice had gone silent from the overexertion. He could feel his new erection pulsing harshly for release, but he could feel nothing escaping him. He was shooting blanks, and it felt so strange for the normal sensation to not follow his climax.

The boiling blood thrumming through him slowed into a soft yet fast drumming sound. He relaxed so far into the bed he felt he might fall through it. His length was twitching, clearly confused over what had just happened, and yet hyped and rearing to go despite the fact that he technically orgasmed.

It was such a strange feeling... but it was a really great experience. He would allow it to happen again in a heartbeat despite how strange it was.

The redhead listened between his exhausted breaths, and heard the shifting of fabric as she pulled away from him.

"Judging by your expression, I must have done it right." Sakura's giggles filled his ears making him give a dopey smile.

"My legs are asleep." Gaara mumbled, and then gave a little silly laugh at himself. "I'm so sleepy-"

"Well, you're not going to sleep yet." The pinkette interjected sternly, and it piqued his interest enough to focus in on her.

When did she remove her shorts? Why wasn't she wearing anything underneath?

'It's going to happen... right now...' He blinked at her then, and she answered his curiosity by crawling over his sweating form.

He was so exhausted, but then again he had been the only one recieving. It was her turn now, and he didn't have any place to argue with her.

Her hips hovered over his own, and then lowered over his over-flushed erection. He was far too sensitive, and was practically squirming underneath her out of discomfort.

"Hey, stop it!" Sakura barked at him, and pressed firmly on his shoulders until he took a breath. Her face went into a stubborn pout, but he couldn't lie and say that it wasn't cute. "If you keep moving like that it might accidentally go in..."

Her cheeks started to turn a flattering red shade, and her jade orbs darted away from him out of embarassment.

Wasn't that the point? Why was she even planning on straddling him if not to go all the way? What else could she do?

Without waiting she grinded her hips forward, and while he expected pressure he didn't expect to feel her practically glide against him.

'So slick... ' He curiously thought, and his hands eagerly grabbed at her hips with the need to find out more about this sensation.

She did it again, and whimpered sweetly before shyly closing her eyes. He looked down between them to see where they met, and it was made fully aware that he was nowhere close to being inside her, but her folds still hugged around his shaft while she eagerly rolled her hips.

He watched so carefully, his face burning as he watched her entire body move with the intent to gain purchase from his own.

It was sinful, disgraceful, and he loved it.

"You're so cute, Sakura." Gaara purred at her, and watched as she flushed a few more shades of red.

At first she didn't say anything, she simply tried looking away, and yet she openly mewled regardless of her embarassment.

He wanted to break her, make her beg, make her cry-

"Does it feel nice?" Right as he said it he arched his hips, forcing her to firmly feel him against her as she moved.

She gave a desperate sobbing sound, and breathed frantically through her mouth before he finally brought his hips back down. However, despite what seemed like her panicking she began to start a more rigorous routine.

Her movements became rough, and she pressed herself much harder against him to gain back what she had just lost. It felt great for him too, but he was far too distracted by her to desire another orgasm.

"You really liked that, didn't you?" The redhead panted, desperate to know everything that was going through her head. She blushed again, holding her fist in front of her mouth as she gave a sharp whimper.

It wasn't what he wanted, but it was still so submissive and attractive that he couldn't stop himself from giving her a dark smile.

"I know you liked it... would you like me to do it again?" Gaara eyed her body hungrily as it rolled in beautiful waves against him. He had seen dancers make these sort of movements, and he now understood the meaning behind them, and their enchanting spell.

She gave another desperate sobbing sound, and he clicked his tongue at her.

"No, Sakura." He pressed himself up to a sitting position, holding onto her to keep himself upright while also gripping possessively over her curves. "You need to tell me, use your 'big girl' words."

The pinkette frantically whimpered in embarassment, and bit her lip as she tried quickening her pace only for him to physically slow her with his firm hands.

"Gaara, no!" Sakura nearly shrieked, and began throwing a small tantrum. Groaning in frustration while desperately pulling at his arms.

"Now now, you can slow down for a bit. You're a bit too eager to finish." The redhead gave her an evil grin, and her eyes looked as if they were about to cry. "I won't let you get there... not unless you follow my instructions-"

"That's not fair!" The pinkette actually cried this time, and while he should have felt bad for her he actually couldn't.

He knew she was going to get what she wanted, but she didn't know that.

"It doesn't matter if it's fair or not, if you want to finish you can beg me for it." Gaara tilted his head to see under her hair a bit better as she let it swing into her eyes. "You're going to be an open book for me... and I want to know every disgusting detail."

At that she tried smacking at him out of anger, and he rolled them until she was pinned underneath. She gave frantic kicks, and he managed to sneak between her thighs to rub himself firmly along her slit.

"So what's it going to be? Should I leave you like this-?"

"No!" Sakura desperately clung to his shirt, and he laughed darkly as a result.

"Hn... you know what I want." He grinded his erection against her hard, not failing to notice how much more slick it had become. "I know what you want too, I know you want this..."

A tear slipped down her cheek, and her lip trembled as she gave another sobbing sound. It looked like she was going to start really crying, but he knew it was just the frustration.

"Poor baby..." Gaara twisted the knife, but wiped a tear away with a gently stroke of his thumb. He made the same thumb part her lips, and open her mouth to force her to pant as he made the next move of his hips.

She whined loudly, and as one more tear fell he leaned in to lick it away, making her jolt in surprise.

"You're so cute like this, Sakura. I wish I could see you like this every day..." The redhead purred at the sinister thought, his hand moving down to wrap around her throat. "Wouldn't you like that? Being pleasured like this every day?"

There was a pause for a moment, her eyes blinked in a doe fashion before she nodded while biting her lip.

"What do you like best so far?" Gaara narrowed his eyes at her, but his devilish smirk remained.

She squirmed slightly in his grip, shyly avoiding his gaze.

"I... liked it... when you came..." The pinkette's cheeks were so red he could have roasted a marshmallow off of them.

However, he was more shocked over the fact that she picked out something about him rather than herself.

"Is that right?" Gaara narrowed his eyes curiously at her, and grabbed her jaw so that she couldn't look completely away. "Are you saying you liked the way I tasted?"

Sakura whimpered with embarassment, and when she tried squirming out of his grip he quickly grinded his burning erection against her soaked folds forcing her to cry out.

"... I loved it..." The pinkette whined, and tried moving her hips so she could feel him against her again, but he quickly punished her by lightly tapping his hardened length against her sensitive sex.

She bucked and trembled, gritting her teeth with a sad whimper.

"That's sweet of you to say... I like how you taste too." The redhead decided he wanted more from their conversation, he needed every ounce of information she could spill to him. "I think you like me more than you let on, but it's okay that you're in denial. I can be patient."

Gaara leaned over her, and started whispering against the shell of her ear.

"I'm going to place a spell on you, right here, right now. You will never forget this night, you will never think of me and not desire my touch. When you're at home, alone in your bed, you will dream of me. You will think of how hard I can make you cum-"

The second the improper word fell from his lips she started to squirm again, making more sobbing sounds as she tried to desperately press her hips against his. He chuckled at her attempt, realizing that she was far gone enough to truly eat out of his hand.

"Every time you pleasure yourself you'll hear my voice in your ear saying the words you love most. You will not be able to be around me without that desire being present." The redhead abandoned her body then to sit up straight, and like he predicted she scrambled to crawl onto his open lap to eagerly grind herself against him. "Sakura, I'm going to make you cry, make you scream, make you beg, and break you into so many pieces-"

Her mouth was on his in seconds, biting and sucking at his lips while her tongue overwhelmed his own. He broke away to pant, and her frantic kissing went straight for his jugular.

He groaned at the painful and wonderful sensation, and his hands swept straight up her shirt to grope and play with her breasts. Any time her nipple was caught by his teasing fingers she would buck against his lap, and eventually he couldn't contain himself from continuously grinding up against her.

"Please, break for me... I want to see it again..." Gaara gripped one hand bruisingly on her hips as he arched up with a painful pressure. She gritted her teeth, and choked on her tears before whimpering desperately for more.

He could feel her essence running down his groin, the amount of slick fluid screamed at him that she was more than ready to take him inside.

He wanted that so badly it physically hurt.

"Finish... finish and I'll put it in-" The redhead bargained, and with a desperately panting breath she stopped her movements.

'Fuck... no no no-' Gaara cursed himself for his impatience, and gritted his teeth painfully. 'IM SUCH A FUCKING IDIOT!'

"Gaara." Sakura breathed as if she wasn't getting any oxygen, but still leaned in to desperately kiss him. He of course accepted, but the confusion was thick on his features.

She moved slightly, grinding up against him until his tip slid back farther then her clitoris. There was more texture to her folds as they slid over the tip of him, and then he felt the utter slick warmth enveloping him slowly as she sank down.

"Oh..." The redhead's eyes closed for a moment, and he took a frightened but exhilarated breath.

Burning hot, smooth yet also textured, hugging around him so perfectly and yet he could feel every movement she gave.

"Sakura... thank you..." He breathed his praise, and wrapped his arms around her so tightly. She felt like a perfect fit in his arms, as if she had been created for him to hold lovingly. She was completely one with his body, and it was the most incredible feeling he had ever experienced.

"Gaara..." Her panting breath was in his ears, and her one arm was wrapped over his shoulders, and behind his neck. She didn't rock her hips right away, but instead she brought her hand down to finish what had been started.

Then he felt how her walls would tighten, and then relax. Every moan, whimper, and squeak he could feel them grip around him and form firm waves of wonderful pressure. His lids fluttered with each pleasurable shock of his own. He gripped hard at her backside, and she started rocking her hips against him and her working hand.

"Sakura..." Gaara panted against her shoulder, and was angered by the fact that her shirt was still on. He pulled roughly on it from the bottom, and she stopped her motions only long enough to get the garment up and over her head.

Now he could see everything. Her body rocking against him, her hand massaging between her spread thighs, the way her swollen sex swallowed him eagerly.

Her blushing cheeks, her perked breasts, her tousled pink hair, and her eyes that were now staring lidded into his own. He kissed her lips, and she started screaming against them while rolling her form frantically with the absolute need for release. Her walls clamped hard around him, so hard that they tried pushing him out but somehow he managed to stay inside.

She was shaking, screaming, and trembling while he could feel and see everything. Her eyes opened part way through the end, and he allowed her pupils to stare so closely into his own that her eyes were all that he could see.

"I love you." She whimpered then finally closed her eyes before kissing him, and rested her head on his shoulder while he stared off into the dark of his bedroom.

There was... no possible way that was real... right?

He was trembling, and his arms wrapped around her waist tenderly before he took sharp and sudden panicked inhales.

'Don't you fucking do it.' Gaara berated himself inwardly, trying desperately to keep his composure, but he felt the sting forming in his eyes. 'Do not fucking cry right now-!'

"Gaara?" Her voice sounded concerned, and out of desperation he quickly pinned her down on the bed. "Gaara-!"

He hid his face in the crook of her neck, and start rocking his hips into her soaking wet center. He didn't want her to see it, and he wondered if she could feel the wetness forming on her shoulder. If she did, then she didn't mention it. Instead she whined sharply in his ear while dragging her nails so hard against his back he knew there had to be blood.

No defense. Nothing came to his aid despite the clear injury, and he did not fucking care.

Harder, faster. He was roughly pounding into her while she clawed at him for life. He could feel those walls of hers again, milking him for everything he had and yet he still wanted to continue sending her to the spirit world if he could.

She screamed harshly next to his ear, and it was so loud that he knew that there was going to be problems, but once again he just did not care.

He growled, groaned, panted, and gave youthful cries of pleasure while she mimicked the same. Eventually though, she got to that point where he knew it was okay for him to finally end it all

"GAARA-!" Her scream was sharp in his ear before going deathly silent. She had stopped arching up, but her inner walls were practically crushing him as he picked up his pace.

He was nearly blinded by it, and so exhausted that he cried fiercely through gritted teeth, pulling out just barely in time to pulse onto her stomach.

Gaara was gasping for air, he need air, but he needed to lay down... but she was beneath him, and he didn't want to crush her. So he stayed locked in place, shaking like a lone leaf on a tree in the rain.

It felt far too good, how could anything ever come close to feeling so wonderful? There was no way... it was practically spiritual. He felt more connected to her in that moment than he ever had before.

"Sakura..." The redhead shivered, and his voice was almost lost due to strain.

He felt her delicate hands moving his hair, and he hadn't realized just how soaked he was, or how sweaty she was for that matter.

Her messy pink hair was matted to her cheeks, and it looked as if her body had just come out of a sauna. However when he noticed the sweat dripping down his own temples he realized that he must have looked like he had gotten out of a pool.

"You okay?" Her voice came out as a whisper, but her concern for him was real. He nodded silently, and finally pushed himself over to actually lay by her side.

Everything ached, which was strange since before that all he could feel was complete ecstasy.

"If I just... lay down for a bit..." He finally answered her, and she started laughing hysterically at him.

That was fine, she could laugh at him, he honestly didn't mind.

"Hnnn, what if I want to cuddle?" Sakura gave him a sweet smile, and it inspired him to brush some of the messy pink locks from her eyes.

"I'd think that cleaning up would be the best option before we do that." Gaara answered teasingly, but she simply scoffed in return.

"Nah-ah. It's your mess." The pinkette hovered her mouth over his, and kissed him quite sensually. It was intriguing enough that he lazily kissed her back, but she pulled away with a smart smirk before he could get back into a mood. "You can clean me up."

The redhead huffed, and groaned as he shakily pushed himself up off the mattress. He didn't know if he could even walk to the bathroom-

"Pfff okay, Rex. Lay back down, I have to pee anyways." Sakura snorted at him, and patted his shoulder mockingly before hopping off the bed.

'How can she have so much energy? I feel like I'm going to die...' Gaara huffed desperately, his body completely at the end of it's tether.

He rolled over onto his back, watching the ceiling warp and turn. He wondered if he had finally lost it, and if this was just a strange and wonderful dream.

'"I love you"'

His eyes watered for a moment, but he willed them away. He could hear her fussing around in the bathroom, and he wished he could hear her throughout the entirety of his life.

But...

"No... you don't..." He whispered to himself, and yet also formed a small sad smile. "But thank you for saying it anyways..."

Life was short, and he needed to enjoy his time while he still had it.

**AN: Oof this was an interesting chapter, tell me what you think in the comments! How do you think this should all turn out? I would love to know how you all feel, thanks so much!**


End file.
